How to celebrate Christmas the pirate way
by BloodyMarryMe
Summary: The Heart Pirates arrive at a winter island full of Christmas cheer, but where there are pirates there is trouble. Competitions, presents, and some well known pirate crews await our friends as they meet with yet another adventure. Side story one-shot, to my 'I don't like you' story. LawxOc


**Dear reader, to explain a bit about this story before you ask what he hell am I reading in a shocked voice; This was a Christmas project I came up with where the readers of 'I don't like you!' gave out their own ideas for this story and all of their ideas were used in one big Christmas story with the characters of my other story 'I don't like you!' **

**Some of you messaged me your ideas while others wrote them in the reviews, but whatever the way, I used them all and created this! So I thank you very much for everyone's cooperation and your wonderful and fun ideas for a Heart Pirates' Christmas story. It wasn't easy I tell you, with all the variations of kisses and mistletoe scenes that you guys suggested (and somehow I had to put them all together and in here). XD So this is the final edition of all your ideas and I hope you like it! **

**I created this as a side story to my 'I don't like you!' story so it doesn't involve the main plot (so what is here stays here and doesn't go into the main plot of 'I don't like you!' You will understand why when you read the story ^^') But it also gave you guys more freedom for scenes since you weren't held back by my plot in the other story. :)**

**Enjoy and have fun! Happy New Year everyone! :D**

* * *

**HOW TO CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS THE PIRATE WAY**

Miyako looked at the cards in her hands, then her gaze fell on Shachi who was sitting right next to her with the same serious expression. The mechanic returned the dead-serious look with his own, hidden behind his sunglasses, before turning his head toward Penguin who was sitting next to him. The other mechanic turned his head to Josh, who was the last in their little circle of four, before turning his attention back to the cards. Josh watched suspiciously at Penguin trying to figure out the man's next move but it was hard to tell what Penguin was thinking with his face hidden behind the usual yellow rim of the hat. So instead the redhead turned his eyes to Miyako, next to him, who was still seriously staring at her own cards. The group was sitting in a circle, everyone holding their own cards, looking from their hand to each other and back to the large sum in the middle of the table that represented their bets.

Josh was indecisive for a second more before sighing and putting the cards back on the table. "I fold" he simply said, giving up.

Miyako watched a pair of kings in her hand, before taking five more chips and putting them on the little heap in front of her. Then she added two more. "I pay five and raise two."

"You're bluffing…" Penguin said after a while of tension that was clear between the players, before paying two chips of his own.

Miyako smirked but there was an edgy expression on her face. "You wish."

Shachi was gripping the cards in his hand, deciding whether to fold or continue. His hand wasn't promising. "Umm….hmmm….nnnn…."

"Just play already!" Josh yelled irritated by the stalling mechanic. He wasn't even playing anymore but he was still tense and on edge, interesting to see who will win this round.

"Shachi finally put his cards down on the table, mimicking Josh's actions. "I fold as well." There was a disappointed tone in his voice as his shoulders slumped down.

"It's only you and me now…" Miyako stared at Penguin, as if trying to make him fold just with her eyes.

However, Penguin wasn't about to get stared down. He returned the look Miyako gave him not backing down. "Alright, let's see it. What've you got?"

Miyako gulped as the moment of truth came closer. Both her and Penguin started to slowly put their cards down on the table, showing each other their hand. By now, all of the Heart Pirates that were gathered in the galley were standing behind the two, surrounding them, as tense as the players themselves while waiting to see the end results. Everybody seemed to gulp at the same time.

"I can't wait to think of a penalty for you this time, when you lose…along with taking your money of course." Penguin grinned and gave Miyako a menacing expression even before their cards were out in the open. He was just trying to scare her, she told herself, but couldn't stop the feeling of dread inside her as she thought of what Penguin would make her do as a penalty game this time. Both him and Shachi always had the most problematic ideas that got them into trouble constantly, especially with Law.

Still Miyako wasn't one to get intimidated easily so she put her cards on the table with her head held high. A pair of kings were the only cards worth any mention in her hand, but she hoped it was enough to beat Penguin's hand.

Penguin's body stiffened and beads of sweat started appearing on his face. He gave the girl a nervous smile. "C-Congratulations Miya-chan, you win…"

Miyako blinked in confusion. "huh? So what's the matter, put your cards down. Isn't it expected in poker for both players to present their cards in the end? That's what you told me." She leaned forward, trying to see Penguin's cards but he expertly avoided her gaze and moved backwards.

"W-well it doesn't really matter, I mean you won so just be happy…" The mechanic was still avoiding Miyako's interested gaze as he dodged her attempts to try and take his cards from his hands.

"But Penguin, how come Miyako won…? Aren't four kings stronger than two kings?" Bepo's puzzled but curious voice came from behind the sitting mechanic, as the bear leaned down to look at Penguin's cards from behind his shoulder.

Penguin stiffened and his nervous face became even more nervous as new beads of sweat joined the already existing ones on his face.

Somewhere in the back of the galley; Law, who was resting on the chair with his feet up on the table while his nodachi leaned on his shoulder and his hat tipped down over his eyes, smirked.

Miyako stopped her ministrations of trying to see Penguin's hand. Her head was bowed down so it was hard to see the expression she was sporting but the pirates could already guess. "Penguin-san…." She started, through her teeth, trying to sound relaxed and cheerful still. She looked up with a forced smile on her face. "How can it be that you can have four kings if I already have two?"

"A-ah….well…Miya-chan, you see…" Penguin was trying to find a way out of this or at least the fastest way out of the room before being sliced in two by Miyako. He wasn't fooled by her smile for one second. He knew what was hiding behind it...a very angry Miyako about to make his life very miserable.

The group of Heart Pirates around them sweat-dropped and quickly took a few steps back, not wanting to get caught up in the line of fire when Miyako's rage finally breaks lose.

But before Miyako's rage could be shown, Josh's was the one which exploded. "You were cheating!? All this time, you were cheating!? Why you-" The medic wasn't even able to finish the sentence from anger as he abruptly stood up from his seat and went for Penguin's neck.

"Yeah…if you're cheating, at least do it right ya' know…" Shachi shook his head disappointedly as he crossed his arms on his chest.

"That's not the problem!" Josh yelled back looking at the brown haired mechanic before turning back to Penguin, who was now up and slowly stepping away from the group with his hands in the air defensively. "C-come on guys, it was just a joke. A joke you know."

"A joke? Oh I see…" Miyako stood up at well, smiling cheerful at Penguin. However, she was already unsheathing the katana from her scabbard tied around the waist. "So how long have you been joking like this, Penguin-san? What about when you won and I needed to spice up captain's lunch as a penalty which got me a chore of scrubbing the whole submarine spotless. Or when I needed to switch Sai's charts and coordinates so he freaked out thinking we were heading for the Volcanic Island of Mt. Fuego. Afterwards, I spent the whole day taking off sea limpets from the sub's hull with a single small knife…in the water!" By now Miyako was already towering over Penguin with her katana while the man all but crouched down in defense like a little mouse.

"That was _your_ idea?!" Sai yelled somewhere from inside the crew of the Heart Pirates as he glared accusingly at Penguin. "I thought we were all going to die!"

Cody, who found himself beside Sai, blinked at the navigator. "huh? If you are here, who is sailing the submarine?" He seemed awfully calm even though they could be crashing and off the course if Sai wasn't on his position in the control room.

"Actually, I'm here to notify you all that we've arrived at a new island." The navigator bumped a fist into an open palm as he finally remembered the actual reason he came down to the galley.

Everyone stopped trying to kill Penguin and looked up at Sai with a mixture of surprise and excitement. "We are?!" The group said in unison, suddenly in a better mood.

The happiest was Bepo as he all but jumped in the air and started running for the door. "Finally, we're finally going to be out and away from this metal oven! Fresh air, fresh air!" The polar bear was out the door, still yelling as he impatiently went for the highest level of the sub and outside the door.

"Wow, he really doesn't like being inside and beneath the surface, huh?" Shachi commented seeing as how Bepo sprinted from the galley.

"Well he is a bear after all. He's always complaining how hot it is in here. I really don't envy that thick fur of his…" Penguin added, deciding it was safe enough to remind them of his presence.

Sai only smirked at the mechanic's words. "You might change your mind soon."

~….~

"Snow!" the crew called out as soon as they stepped foot out of the submarine and onto the slippery deck filled with snow and ice.

Down below, Bepo was already enjoying the cold weather by lying on his stomach on a heap of white soft pillow of snow.

"It's a winter island." Sai explained once he stepped outside together with his crewmates, smiling slightly. Somehow, everyone seemed excited by the change of weather and were enjoying themselves in the cold, fresh air. Miyako was glad she had her check coat and winter gloves this time. However, her body still shivered since she had no hat or anything for her head. The light snow was falling, making her hair wet. To her surprise, she felt a warm hat drop down on her head just as Law passed her by. The captain put a fuzzy black winter hat on her head, perhaps one of his old ones, and walked away nonchalantly towards the railing and down on the island. Miyako blinked a few times, watching his leaving back silently, before she put the hat further down hiding her smiling expression with the black rim of the hat.

They all looked at the island before them. It was pretty big and there were a lot of ships in the port, next to their submarine. Some were even pirate ships, which meant this island was probably marine-free. Still, it also meant they had to be careful and keep an eye on the other pirate crews in case some of them decide to take care of the competition and attack the other pirate crews. Up ahead, in the vastness of snow and ice, large mountains and snow hills could be seen. Beneath them was a large town, with bright lights illuminating its surroundings, almost as if inviting the people in.

"Hey, now that I think about it, it's that time of year isn't it…" Cody was scratching the small stub of unsaved hair on his chin, seemingly in thought. The medic shivered and took out a pack of cigarettes from his coat, lighting one of them as if that would keep him warmer.

"What time of year?" Josh tilted his head, looking at Cody questioningly.

"Well it was exactly a year ago when we came to that winter island…It was called Christmas Island." Cody explained.

"Oh I remember, they had that funny tradition with presents and decorations and stuff!" Kai smiled while remembering their time during the Christmas Island stay. But for Miyako and some of her friends, it was a time of trouble and adventure even though everything worked out in the end. The girl smiled at the memories.

"Aye, an' it be a great traditi'an, say I! T'was a fun moment, tha' Island." Munk came to the deck of the submarine, taking a deep breath of cold air to fill his lungs. The pose with his hands on his waist, made him look even larger than usual. He scratched his thick brown beard that seemed to have more streaks of silver in it than when Miyako first met him. Still, his troubling accent stayed the same though luckily the samurai got used to it and had no problem understanding the man now.

Josh laughed. "Maybe, but I doubt there will be the same thing here. I mean, these two winter islands are thousands of miles apart. Sorry, Munk." He patted the much older man on his hand since Josh couldn't even reach Munk's shoulder, before the redhead went down the metal plank and joining the rest of the crew in the snow.

~…~

"….."

"You're…kidding me, right?" Josh was the first of the group to speak up after he had gotten out of the shock and surprise by the scene displayed before them. The town was full of colorful and bright lights, decorations like candy-canes and red ribbons were everywhere, together with decorated trees and pine branches wrapped in colorful items and lights. The people were running around the snow covered streets with their children in tow and boxed presents in the bags and hands. Black and brown colored carriages pulled by horses rode through the town's roads, carefully avoiding the groups of people and running children that were playing in the snow.

"Merry Christmas!"

"Merry Christmas to you too!"

"Excuse me, coming through!"

The streets were crowded with people and children of all ages as they passed by. A loud laughing sound came from a nearby pub where a group of pirates was sitting outside, warming themselves with some whiskey and rum. Yet the townspeople didn't seem to mind the pirates at all.

"U-um…isn't this just like…Laponia?" Miyako was still overcoming her shock as she remembered the small town's name, the one situated on Christmas Island.

"Perhaps the Christmas tradition passed on to other islands as well, by travelers, merchants, other seamen…" Sai retorted as he tried to think of a logical idea why they would be standing there and watching what looked like a scene from Déjà vu.

"Perhaps. But no matter the reason, we still have our work to do. We're low on fresh water and medical supplies so we need to restock." Law reminded his crew not to forget to actually do their job. He saw they were restless and were already looking around for bars and taverns, to play around. "And be careful of the other pirate crews here. It seems there are a lot."

"Hm…I wonder if it's some kind of pirate event today….everything looks lively and festive, like their preparing for something." Miyako looked around in wonder as the people of the town ran around carrying all sorts of items.

"Pirate event!?" Almost the whole crew turned their heads towards Miyako as they heard her words, with a glint in their eye. There was a wide smile on their faces, as if she just told them they found a mountain of gold. The girl sweat-dropped, not sure how to answer or react to dozen eyes staring right at her.

Law on the other hand didn't look bothered or excited by it at all. However, he knew what his crew was thinking as soon as they heard Miyako. The pirate captain sighed and pulled out a log pose from his long black coat. "Mister Jean Bart said the log pose will set tomorrow at sunrise, so don't be late." It was his subtle permission for the crew to have fun and do what they want as long as they return to the submarine on time. It almost reminded Miyako of a father setting a curfew agreement with his child, and the girl couldn't help but chuckle at the sight. But it still attracted the questioning attention of their captain who watched her with one eyebrow raised. The rest of the crew didn't notice at all since they were still taken by their captain's words. As soon as they understood his permission the pirates grinned even wider if it was possible and cheered.

Law ignored the group as he turned back to the samurai girl. "Miss Miyako, you-" However, he was unable to finish as Josh grabbed Miyako's hand and was already dragging her away.

"Alright Miyako, let's find this pirate event!" The redhead didn't let go as he dragged her down the streets with the rest of the group. The Heart pirates soon scattered, some going to deal with the chores they've gotten from the captain and others simply looking for the best tavern to dilly-dally in.

"O-oy wait, Josh, I don't even know if there is one! It was just an assumption!" The girl tried to struggle and get away from the medic's grip but the short man was surprisingly strong for his stature.

Meanwhile, Cody who was walking alongside them stared at Josh with an interested expression. "What was that all about?" He asked his medic friend after a while but Josh only gave him a grumpy look and put his hat further down on his head.

"It's nothing." The redhead answered and continued walking, dragging the protesting girl with him.

~…..~

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! Pirates and daring seamen of all ages, come to the annual Pirate Christmas Competition to test your skills and abilities! All for the holiday cheer! Who among you is the most daring, strongest and luckiest pirate crew in town!?" A tall man was standing on a small platform of some kind, wearing a red and white pinstripe suit, which made him look like a Santa mobster. He was handing out leaflets while attracting attention of everyone around him.

"That's it! It must be it!" Josh grinned and ran towards the man, the rest of the group following close behind him. The redhead cleared his throat to get the attention of the tall man, before speaking in a loud and clear voice. "We would like to sign up for the Christmas Pirate competition!"

The said man stopped and looked down at the medic with a grin. "Oh, sorry little boy, but this competition is very dangerous and is for pirate crews only. Now run along and be a good boy. Maybe one day when you grow up-"

Joshua was red in the face from both anger and embarrassment and he grabbed the man's beard that was unfortunately for the man not fake. Pulling the man down until they were face the face, Josh growled through gritted teeth. "I _am_ a pirate."

He could hear the snickering and chuckles coming from the pirate group behind him. Cody, who was trying his hardest not to laugh but failing at it, came up to the two to calm the redhead down. "Now now, the man didn't know Joshua. He just…made a mistake." The blue haired medic was trying his hardest not to burst out laughing.

"Yes, Josh, be a good boy and let the old man go." Shachi couldn't resist teasing the medic.

"Yeah, if you do maybe we'll let you stay up late tonight." Miyako finished and the group couldn't contain themselves any longer, as everyone burst into laughter at once.

Josh let the man go, still shaking from anger. His face was completely red and probably hot enough for the ice to melt off it. He glared up at the surprised and slightly scared man. "Where do we sign in?"

The man was somehow able to regain his wits as he fixed his suit. "Oh well actually, I'm just advertising. If you want to sign up, you'll have to go to the town's City Hall of Christmas Cheer." The man gave Josh an advertising pamphlet. On it, with red and green letters stated an invite to the competition with an address. "Join us in a thrilling adventure of Christmas cheer. Perhaps you are just the crew to prevail among all others, so show us your Christmas spirit on the annual Christmas Pirate Competition aka the CPC." Josh read in a mutter from the paper.

"I was wondering actually; how come you know of Christmas?" Cody was the one to speak this time as he looked at the tall man.

"Haha Well, that's an interesting story. It takes us back all the way to 150 years in the past, when our first mayor was still a struggling buccaneer who set foot on a particular island called a Christmas Island! It was said that Christmas Island had a tradition-" The man kept talking, telling an awfully long and boring story of the whole origin of Christmas spirit on this island. However, the group was already walking away, ignoring the man as they all discussed among themselves what do to next.

"Hm, so their first mayor was a pirate. No wonder the island is so pirate friendly." Sai pulled down his knit cap over his ears to keep himself warm.

"And it seems good for tourism as well. Especially this whole Christmas Pirate Competition. I guess they get a lot of pirate crews passing this way so they just decided to make a business out of it." Cody added.

"CPC, huh? So, what are we waiting for? Let's find this City Hall of Christmas Cheer and sign in!" Josh grinned feeling excited again. He was trying to forget about the whole embarrassing situation from a moment ago even though he feared his friends won't let him forget it easily.

"Hey, who made you in charge?" Bepo complained. Even so, he walked after the group, not wanting to be left behind.

Miyako sighed. "You know guys, I'm not really all that pumped up about this so why don't I just-" The girl tried to get out of it but as she turned around to leave, the rest of the Heart Pirates blocked her way with grinning faces.

"Nonsense! C'mon Miyako-chan, you're a pirate too so you need to participate as well! Get into the pirate's spirit! Erm I mean….Christmas Spirit!" Penguin and Shachi both took her by the hands and dragged her along.

~…..~

"You know guys, I was thinking…." Shachi spoke up after a moment of silence while the group walked down the snow-covered streets. Every now and then they needed to move aside for passing carriages and people running around with big colorfully wrapped boxes in their hands. "Christmas is a day of giving, right? So what do you say we give a present to captain!?" The mechanic put on a wide smile at the thought of his own idea.

"Hm…That's not a bad idea, Shachi. I mean, he seems pretty worried lately. Maybe a Christmas present would cheer him up!" Penguin nodded vigorously beside Shachi.

"That's fine but…what about the CPC?" Miyako asked.

"How about we split up? You go and sign us in and we'll look for a present for the captain. And afterwards, we'll just meet in front of that City Hall they mentioned." Shachi suggested and everyone else nodded approvingly.

"I want to go buy captain a present as well." Bepo didn't even need to think about which group to join. Buying a present for Law seemed like a wonderful idea to him, one he couldn't miss.

"I'll go with you too, I want to send a letter to my little sister on the way anyway." Sai said, pulling out a clear white envelope.

Everybody looked at him in shock and surprise without a word, before almost yelling in unison. "You have a little sister?!"

Now it was Sai's turn to blink in surprise. "What's the big deal?"

"Hey, hey, hey, wait a minute! How long have we known each other and you never even mentioned you have a sibling!" Josh seemed quite insulted and agitated by that fact.

"Hmm...now that I think about it, we really don't know much about Sai, do we?" Miyako asked Cody while the others were still making a fuss, surrounding the poor navigator and attacking him with questions.

"I suppose you're right…He doesn't really talk much about himself. And Captain doesn't really care much about these things so he never asked for Sai's past."

Miyako sighed, Law's face clear in her mind. Yes, she really couldn't imagine him caring about someone's origin. "Yeah, I suppose he wouldn't…." She mumbled with a sweat-drop.

Meanwhile, the questions from the rest of the crew aimed at Sai seemed to never stop. The loudest were Shachi's and Penguin's though.

"How old is she?"

"Is she cute?!"

And that of course won them a first class punch on their heads from the navigator. "Don't you even dare, you perverts!" He seemed more emotional than the usual Sai who didn't seem to care about much…well, almost anything actually. Everyone seemed surprised by that reaction.

"Maybe Sai has a sister complex?!" Suddenly Bepo said, but in a completely innocent tone as if he didn't even realize what that word meant.

Sai and the rest of the group just stopped and everyone stared back at Bepo who only blinked with his button black eyes in confusion.

Sai looked totally bewildered now. "B-Bepo, where did you hear that word?!"

The bear pointed right at Josh who stiffened immediately. The redhead had an obvious guilty look on his face. "From Josh." Bepo answered simply.

Sai's annoyed look fell right on the short medic as he raised his fist again. "Joooshuuuaaa…"

A loud noise of someone hitting a hard surface filled the cold afternoon air.

~…~

Josh, Miyako, Bepo and Sai walked the streets until they finally stopped at a large office building. It was covered in colorful lights and Christmas decorations like all the others, the show falling from its rooftop. A large sign engraved in the stone wall of the building said 'Postal office.'

"This must be it." Miyako said as they stood in front of the large wooden doors. She looked at the rest of the group until her eyes fell on the short redhead. "I must say I'm surprised you didn't go to the City Hall with the others."

"Well I couldn't just let you do such an important mission like buying our captain a present all by yourselves. I have a need- No, an _obligation_, to be here!" Josh was holding his finger high in the air, emphasizing every word to show how important their errand was. The others simply rolled their eyes, though already used to such behavior from Joshua.

Sai sighed. "Anyway, just let me send this letter and then we can be on our way to find captain a perfect Christmas present." Even the navigator seemed secretly excited by the idea of surprising their captain with a present.

However, everyone's expressions soon changed once they opened the large doors to the post office. The group was stunned by the quantity of people inside, everyone pushing each other, yelling and arguing, while trying to reach the counter with the clerks. There was no order in the building that looked much smaller from the inside than the outside now that it was crowded with all these people.

~…..~

Shachi, Penguin and Cody were walking down the streets, trying to find the City Hall. Penguin sighed deeply, indicating that something was troubling him. "How come we didn't go shopping for captain's present even though it was our idea?"

"That's just the way it goes in life Penguin…" Shachi added, feeling down by the same fact.

"Well that's an awfully depressing thing to say." Cody mumbled with a sweat drop, looking at the two mechanics. "Come on now, it'll be fine even without us. Besides, Bepo knows captain Law the longest."

"Bepo?! He'll want to buy captain fish or something!" Penguin raised his voice in frustration from just the thought of it. Shachi was nodding harshly at the other mechanic's exclaim.

"Hey, this must be it." Cody cut them off, ignoring the two mechanics with their troubles as he pointed at the big building up ahead. Large stairs on each side of it led all the way up to the stone building that had a large text chiseled into it just beneath the rooftop. The letters clearly spelled out 'City Hall.' On the large entryway that was already open, a banner was hanging, which said "Christmas Pirate Competition!" indicating they were indeed in the right place. The pirates walked up the stone steps seeing a crown of people up front, trying to get into the City Hall. There was a long line of pirates that were waiting to sign up. The medic sighed at the sight. "It'll be a long wait."

"We should've gone to buy the present after all. I bet the other group is having more fun than standing in line…" Shachi muttered, his frustration growing again.

"What present?" A new voice came right behind them, making the Heart Pirates jump in surprise. The deep voice couldn't belong to anyone else but their captain. The three pirates quickly turned around seeing their captain standing there tall in his usual black coat with the Heart Pirates Jolly Roger on it. The long nodachi was as always resting on his shoulder as the captain watched his crewmembers with a raised eyebrow. Jean Bart, the navigator of their crew, was standing beside Law with a large winter jacket, making the rest wonder where he even found such a large size of clothing. The two mechanics and the medic quickly exchanged anxious glances, all wondering the same thing; how much did Law hear of their conversation and how much did he know about their big present surprise now? Trafalgar Law was no fool; he could easily figure it out if they blurted out the wrong thing.

Cody took the lead in answering, putting on his usual smile. "Oh, we were just hoping to buy a present for Miyako to surprise her. She seems a bit down and in thought all the time lately so…"

"I see." Law put a hand on his chin as he stared at the ground, as if considering something in Cody's words. The three looked at each other again, stiff and nervous, to see if Law bought it. "Perhaps that's not a bad idea…" the captain said, still in thought. He didn't notice his three crewmembers sigh in relief as they realized they were safe.

"Anyway, captain, why are you here?" Shachi asked, wanting to change the subject quickly.

"Oh, I signed us up for the Christmas Pirate Competition, or as they say CPC." Law answered as if it was the most natural thing in the world, ignoring or simply not noticing the shocked and bewildered expressions of his crewmembers. The only one who didn't look surprised was Jean Bart, but then again he already knew what Law was planning.

"Eeeh? Captain is interested in something like that?" Penguin couldn't hide his surprise even as he spoke.

"Well I wasn't when I thought it was just for some title. But it seems there is a mystery prize involved as well, so I got interested." The captain smirked at the thought. He couldn't help his natural curiosity after all.

Cody and the mechanics looked at each other knowingly. *_Figures_…* They all thought the same, knowing how their captain thinks already.

"Where are the others? Weren't you about to sign in for us anyway?" Jean Bart spoke this time as he noticed that a lot of the members of the usual group were missing.

"They went to buy the Christmas present for Miyako." Penguin blurted out the first lie he thought of. Shachi and Cody both flinched as their bodies stiffened. Shachi had to restrain himself from facepalming while Cody looked back at Penguin with a glare.

"They went to buy a surprise present for Miyako…with Miyako?" Law couldn't help but blink at the illogical idea of his crewmembers.

Penguin realized what he had done and tried to correct it with more lies. But as it always was, that only pushed them deeper down the endless hole of transparent untruths, making them sound even guiltier. "Well you know, who else knows best what Miyako likes than Miyako!?" Penguin laughed nervously.

"I...suppose that makes sense." Bart slowly said, mulling over the idea. Law, however, still didn't look completely convinced.

Shachi elbowed Penguin in the ribs to shut him up while Cody once again took the lead. "What Penguin is trying to say is that Miyako doesn't know they will buy her a present, she thinks they just went shopping and the guys will sharply watch out for anything she says she likes so they know what to buy later." The medic took a gulp of breath after explaining everything in one long but fast sentence.

"Hm...that's actually not a bad idea." Jean Bart seemed taken by the whole idea, interested in it. "Just be careful of Bepo, he will want to buy her fish." The large navigator warned.

The three crewmembers just looked at each other, with Penguin giving them an '_I told you so'_ stare.

Law still didn't look completely convinced as he still found some flaws in their plan and was just about to point them out when a loud yell stopped him. His half opened mouth closed again as everyone looked in the direction the boyish voice was coming from.

"Torao! It really is Toraoguy!" The very familiar voice echoed through the whole town's square, while an even more familiar sight of a straw hat on top of the boy's head followed it. The Heart pirates looked in shock as a group of pirates walked towards them with a young boy running in front. It didn't take them long to recognize the other pirate crew with their captain cheerfully jumping and running around in the snow with his hands high in the air, his straw hat securely on his head and the boy sporting a wide grin on his face.

"Strawhat?!" Both mechanics' yelled in unison with a disbelieved tone.

"What is Strawhat Luffy doing here?" Jean Bart seemed as surprised as the rest of them this time.

Trafalgar Law just stared at the incoming pirate crew without a word, not even looking surprised but surely even he had to wonder why the Strawhat pirates were on this island.

~…..~

"What do we do know?" Miyako was reluctant to step inside and join the pushing crowd.

"We have no choice, I'm going in." Sai took a deep breath to preparing himself before stepping inside. He was immediately suffocated and squashed by the people and their boxes and mail they were trying to send out. It seems sending Christmas cards and presents to their families on other parts of the island was a big tradition during this time of year. Still, as much as Sai hated crowds, he still pushed on trying to get through them all and reach the clerk.

"Wow, I thought Sai hated crowds yet he's prepared to go inside, _there_? Maybe he really has a sister complex." Josh muttered before rather slowly and reluctantly stepping inside as well.

"Just don't let Sai hear you, or you'll get another hit in the head." Bepo warned. He really didn't want to go inside. It looked cramped and hot there and his sensitive sense of smell was already picking up strong scented perfume from the ladies inside and even stronger aftershaves from the gentlemen. It was enough to make his head spin in this cramped room where the oxygen didn't seem to flow at all.

Luckily Miyako's sharp eye noticed Bepo's discomfort while he kept peering at the people ahead. "That's alright Bepo, just wait for us outside." *_He's way too big for this crowded place anyway, it would just get worse.*_ She walked in and closed the doors behind her, seeing Bepo's grateful expression before the large doors shut completely. As soon as she turned around, she was pushed in one direction almost hitting the wall before another group pushed her in another, shoving a big box in her face.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Josh yelled, trying to breathe and not get himself trampled on by the herd of people shoving each other.

"Everyone! People calm down! There has been a little problem with the mail, just keep calm and we will sort everything out!" The clerk woman yelled in a small megaphone that nobody even saw where she pulled it out from.

"This is not my mail, miss!" One angry customer yelled.

"I have been waiting an hour to get this sent!" Another added.

"Just wait a bit longer!" The clerk tried to calm down the crowd but all was in vain.

"You've been saying that for hours!" A gentlemen with thick grey mustache said angrily.

Somehow the Heart Pirates managed to push and struggle their way through the counter. They saw a big woman in her thirties, strong in build and character as she ordered around two other girl clerks much smaller and more timid by the whole situation. They were all wearing matching dark blue uniforms of the island's postal service.

Sai tried to get the woman's attention as she pulled out his white envelope from the equally white jumpsuit the Heart pirates all wore. "I need to send this-"

He didn't get to finish as the woman cut him off, not even looking in his direction. "We'll be with you in a minute." The woman waved her hand at him dismissively and continued to sort out some mail before giving them to one of the girls who then ran with her hands full in the backroom.

The Heart Pirates waited…and waited…and then waited some more. The navigator tried a few more times but with no success, just like the rest of the people there. The ambient in the room was beginning to become insufferable with all the loud people, the pushing crowd, the smell and the noise…Through it all there was one person who didn't have enough patience for any of this.

"This is ridiculous! How hard it is to take some mail and sort it out in boxes for delivery! This people are just incompetent!" Josh yelled, sick of the whole situation, loud enough for all to hear.

Unfortunately the main clerk heard it as well. Everything suddenly went quiet, even the crowd as people stopped pushing. Everyone stared at the redhead, before lifting their gaze to the woman clerk behind the counter. She has stopped what she was doing and turned around slowly. Josh noticed everyone staring behind him so he turned around as well, now face to face with a very large and angry woman.

"Incompetent, ey? So you think this is easy work, hmmm?" There was a flare in her eye as she towered over the short medic. "Somebody was a prankster and decided to sneak in the back room and shuffle everyone's mail, so we are a _bit_ troubled." She explained sarcastically. "But I suppose you would do _much_ better, hm? Mister fancy pirate!"

Josh and the rest of the Heart Pirates looked at each other. Miyako just shrugged not knowing how to help the medic, while Sai glared at Josh irritated because the medic couldn't keep his mouth shut for once.

The woman seemed even bigger now as she stared down with her two black eyes with too much makeup on, at Josh. "Then why don't you do it all together! I've had enough of this work anyway! I quit!" The woman ripped the official badge of the post office and stuck it on Josh's uniform, the pin stabbing him in the process from the sheer force of it. She took off her dark blue hat and jammed it right onto Josh's usual hat without blinking an eye.

"Wha-? What? Hey, wait a second!" The redhead called after her but the woman disappeared in the back room and didn't come back. She probably exited the building through there and had no intention of coming back.

Everything was still quiet as the crowd of people stared accusingly at Josh, ready to pierce him with their eyes.

"Well?" A woman asked, glaring at Josh.

"Well what? I'm not doing it! This is not my job!" The redhead tried to justify himself but that only made the crowd riled up again. Everyone was now shouting and yelling at Josh, pushing onto him their boxes and mail along with numerous complains. The poor medic felt dizzy from it all and tried to push it all away but to no avail. Suddenly he felt a thug on his collar and was dragged across the counter and on the other side to where the clerks were. He looked up to see Sai pulling up his sleeves determined.

"Huh? What's going on?" Joshua blinked, noticing that Miyako was right beside him as well already talking with the two scared office girls that were left without a leader. "You don't actually think of doing this, do you?!" The green eyes of the medic widened in surprise and the whole unexpected situation.

"You're the one who got us into this mess, in the first place Joshua." Sai looked at the redhead annoyed but helped his crewmate up anyway. "Do you want an angry mob after you?" He nodded in the direction of the very irate and fuming unsatisfied customers. "Besides…" The navigator continued, pulling out his own letter as well. "I have my own reason for doing this. It's in my interest to get this mailing system fixed and going." Sai smirked, waving the letter in front of Josh's face.

As much as Josh hated to admit it, he knew he was responsible for this mess he got everyone into. And he wasn't one to run away from responsibilities. Josh sighed, realizing he had no other choice. Besides, if his friends were beside him in this, he couldn't just leave them to take care of his mess. "Alright. What do we need to do…?" Even so, he wasn't happy about it one bit and his honest features clearly showed it by the mixture of poutiness and grouchiness on his face.

Miyako then turned to her friends, after she was done talking with one of the clerks. "They say we'll have to deliver the mail manually since somebody broke the sorting machine making all the mail go into wrong slots and it got sent to wrong addresses. They even scrambled all the letters in the postal slots to make them arrive to the wrong people."

"Manually!? But that would take ages! We still need to buy captain his present, meet up with Shachi and the others and participate in the competition! And this island is huuuge. We'll never be in time!" Josh wailed in frustration. Nothing was going by the plan anymore. He wondered how Law always managed to make everything go so smoothly when he made his plans. It all looked so easy when the captain did it, even if they got into a troublesome situation on the way.

"Who would do such a thing on Christmas anyway…" Sai shook his head in disbelief.

"Pirates?" Miyako shrugged. "The town's full of them."

"I don't think they care about mail delivery though…" Sai countered.

"Are you even listening to me!?" Josh yelled, seeing how Sai and Miyao kept ignoring him, together in their own little world. "How are we going to send all this stuff on foot?!"

"U-um…." Finally one of the clerk girls spoke up while the other one still tried to talk to people and sort out the whole mess, taking their mail one by one. "Actually, you won't be traveling by foot…"

The Heart Pirates all went quiet and looked at the girl, blinking in wonder. "How are we going to travel then?" Miyako asked.

~….~

When the girl led them to a dark storage room at the back of the postal office, for a second the Heart Pirates thought it was a trap. But soon their realized that perhaps a trap would be better when the clerk girl showed them something large, covered in an even larger cloth. As the girl uncovered it, they all coughed and sneezed from the dust and the scent of oil that the gust brought with it.

Miyako put a wrist against her nose, trying not to breathe all the dust. "What is this?" Even when the item was uncovered, the Heart Pirates couldn't decipher what it was. It looked like some kind of metal sleighs, but the whole contraption looked old and scrappy as if it will all fall apart soon.

"I admit it's quite an old model but…it's all we have." The clerk explained.

"Yeah, but what is it." Josh asked a bit impatiently.

"It looks ancient…" Sai added, tapping the contraption lightly with his foot as if trying to assess its sturdiness.

"It's a sleigh, of course." The girl was a bit surprised that the group didn't realize. "You will be using it to travel."

"Eeeh? We will be traveling in this old thing? We'll die in this, it'll fall apart before we reach the end of this town. How are we supposed to drive all across the island in this thing?" Now it was Miyako's time to become frustrated. She didn't trust this contraption one bit and had no desire to set foot in it.

"Oh don't worry; it's sturdier than it looks. Besides, in this you can get across the whole island in less than a day." The girl smiled but the Heart Pirates didn't look convinced at all.

"Driving in this will get us to all the places we need to deliver the mail to in less than a day…?" Sai didn't look convinced at all as he gave a girl an 'are you sure you didn't fall and hit your head?' look.

The girl chuckled. "Oh you won't be driving, silly. You'll fly." She said it with such simplicity, as if there was nothing wrong with the statement. Still, the pirates just continued to stare at her blankly as if she was crazy. She ignored their stares and went to the metal sleigh, pushing a few buttons before pulling up a lever. The loud engine started running, the small propeller started turning and soon, with a lot of smoke and dust, the sleigh started rising until they were hovering in the air. Two more propellers were quickly working underneath, keeping the sleigh in the air.

Everybody stared with their mouths open, their jaws practically hanging. After a while, the pirates got used to the sight. Josh was the first one to speak. "But it only hoovers, it doesn't actually fly….or?"

"Well it did fly a long time ago, but to be honest it is pretty old. Now we fear that too much strain from flying would really make the whole thing fall apart. So instead…" She went to the big doors of the storage room and pulled some rope downwards. As soon as she did, the whole wall started to open showing the backyard of the postal office, guarded with a wooden fence. There, three creatures stood that reminded Miyako of reindeer. Except, that they were snow white with golden antlers on top of their heads. Their noses were all of different colors; one had a completely white noise, one had a grey one and the last one's nose was black as coal. "Now we have help from these guys to pull the sleigh in the air." The girl finished.

"But they don't have any wings." Sai noticed.

The girl nodded and took out a small bag. She showed it to the pirates and the group could see it was filled with colorful dust. "But this will make them. This is the Hae dust imported from the South Blue. It's actually the dust from the wings of the big Chouchou butterflies that enables them to fly. It will lighten you and let you fly as though you have wings of your own. It's very expensive you see, so use it carefully." The girl took a fistful of the dust and tossed it in the air, sprinkling the sleigh with it. Then she went to prepare the reindeer. "Oh, be a dare and go to the main room. I told everyone to put their mail into the big bag so go and get it here. They should be done by now." The girl said, looking at Josh.

"Alright. I need to get Bepo and tell him everything that happened anyway." Josh nodded and disappeared to the main room of the postal office.

When the redhead came back with Bepo, both of them were panting hard as they dragged an enormous simple cloth bag. "All…of…this…" Josh started saying but was still too tired as he heaved. He helped Bepo drag the bag to the sleighs and they tossed it on the back seat. Luckily, the sleigh was large enough for the bag and all of them to fit in it. Meanwhile, the girl has strapped the reindeer and sprinkled the animals with the same dust before handing it over to Miyako.

All of the Heart Pirates jumped into the sleigh but the girl stopped them before they could be on their way. "One more thing. This is the town's property so I don't even have to tell you to return it into the exact condition we leant it to you." The girl said a bit sternly.

The group looked at the shabby condition of their vehicle. *_That won't be too hard…*_ They all thought with a sweat drop.

Ignoring the pirates' disappointed looks directed at the sleigh, the clerk continued. "And also…since we aren't really allowed to always use this sleigh we'll have to disguise you so it looks like this is all a part of our propaganda. We don't want the town's officials to get suspicious…or think that the pirates stole this sleigh you see." With a smile she handed them all a packet of clothing.

The pirates unfolded the clothing and looked at them with even more disappointment. They were all characteristic for Christmas times; red and white Santa suits and reindeer uniforms with beige shirt and pants. The hood on them had reindeer horns. Josh pulled out a big red nose. "No way…There is no way I'm wearing this!" He protested.

Meanwhile Miyako just had a dreadful sense of Déjà vu. *_Not again…*_ She sighed while already resigning to her fate.

After a long time of reasoning and urging from the clerk girl and even reminding them that it was them that got themselves into this mess in the first place, all the pirates were dressed in their attire, looking a lot less pleased and excited now. Miyako and Sai were both wearing the Santa suit though hers was made for girls. It consisted of a short dress exposing her pale legs and knee-high black boots, with white furry rims and buttons. There was a big hood in the back. Sai's was quite similar though he wore pants and Miyako felt jealous of that fact. She would rather wear the male's outfit than this embarrassingly short and tight one.

Sai laughed at Miyako's expression. "It looks good on you Miya-chan, very sexy." He gave her a thumbs up teasingly as he grinned. He knew Shachi and Penguin would die to see this yet they couldn't. They'll be mad with jealousy later when they hear what they missed.

The girl didn't look pleased by his half-teasing comments at all. The only consolation was that there was someone else looking even less pleased since they looked even more ridiculous. Josh had the reindeer uniform with the beige jacket and pants. The hood was on his head, the antlers sticking out together with two eyes and a red nose sewed on the hood.

Bepo couldn't help but laugh at the sight. He was the only one left in his orange jumpsuit since they didn't have any clothing in his size. Both Miyako and Josh looked his way when he laughed and stepped closer.

"Oh it's funny, is it?" Josh said, a mischievous glint in his eye.

"Come here for a sec, Bepo." Miyako stepped closer with a dangerous smirk on her face.

The two cornered the poor polar bear, taking some items from the box. They attacked him at once, adjusting and tying until their masterpiece was done. The bear stood there with toy antlers strapped on top of his head and a big red nose jammed onto his usual black one.

"Let's see how you like it!" Miyako exclaimed, satisfied with hers and Josh's work.

Sai sweat dropped. It seemed those two got along only when they were making someone else miserable. "Come on guys, let's go." The navigator called reminding they still had a lot of work to do.

When the Heart Pirates were inside, Miyako blinked. "Now that I think about it, we don't even know how to fly this thing."

Everyone gulped at the realization. Everyone except Sai who smirked and pulled out the map of the island that the clerk girl gave him. "Good thing you're with one of the best navigators in all four seas then!" He took the reins and flicked his wrists to get the reindeer to go. "Alright, let's g- Whoooooa!" Before Sai could finish, the animals jumped in the air and kept running up and up into the white misty sky much faster than the Heart Pirates would expect. Below them, they could see the clerk girl waving excitedly but with a slightly worried expression.

~…..~

"Torao! It really is you!" Luffy ran over to Law and his group, putting both hands on Law's shoulders as if they were old friends who didn't see each other in ages.

"Wha? Strawhat, what are you doing here!?" Shachi yelled out once again in disbelief as he saw Luffy being all buddy-buddy with his captain. It was weird that the boy still had his head on his shoulders after grabbing at Law like that all of a sudden. Still the Heart Pirates knew Law's patience won't last forever as he already had that irritated glint in his grey eyes.

"Oh, Luffy. I didn't know you and Mister Trafalgar were friends." Robin said as she walked over to the two. Soon the rest of the Strawhat crew followed.

"Hora, Luffy! Don't just run away like that all of a sudden!" The second woman of their crew, Nami, joined in as she gave Luffy a nice smack on the head.

The strawhat wearing captain didn't even register the hit as he continued with his own pace, answering Robin's question. "Yep, he saved me when I nearly died at the Marine HQ. He's a good guy." The last statement was accompanied by a rather strong pat on the back from Luffy to Law, which knocked out the air from Trafalgar's lungs. The captain huffed the air out with a grunt.

Still, Law regained civil as he gripped his nodachi but didn't unsheathe it. "Strawhat…what are you doing on this island?" He wanted to make the simpleminded Luffy focus on something else and prevent any more uncomfortable outbursts by the younger captain.

"We saw the add in the newspapers saying there is this big pirate event so we just had to come! It's an adventure! And everything looks awesome and sparkly, this Christmas is amazing! Like these-" He pulled out a colorful cookie in a form of a tree from somewhere. "You have to try this Toraoguy, it's delicious!" The cookie was gone in one bite and swallow.

Usopp sighed behind them. "You…_You_ had to come, Luffy. We didn't really have a choice." However, his expression soon changed into an excited smile. "But I'm glad we did, this place is so fun! They even have a Christmas carnival, you know!"

"Look Usopp! They have cotton candy!" Chopper had both hands filled with cotton candy as he took a bite from one and then the other. "It's delicious!"

"Whoa, now I remember. We met these guys at Sabaody, didn't we?" Sanji stared at Law, then turned his attention to the mechanics and Jean Bart. Cody was the only one left out seeing as he wasn't there at that time.

"Ah! Where's the bear?" Luffy noticed the crucial thing missing; the talking polar bear in clothing. He felt a bit disappointed at the fact since that bear was such an interesting sight.

Zoro was staring at the Heart Pirates….piercing them with his one eye silently. The mechanics and Cody looked at each other in discomfort, then back at the swordsman who was still staring. Zoro didn't move his gaze off of them and after a few minutes of silent staring, he finally opened his mouth to say something. "No…I don't remember them after all."

The Heart Pirates almost fell to their heads from this imposing comedy pace, sweatdropping.

"Stupid senile marimo…" Sanji muttered, glancing at the swordsman with obvious distaste.

"Huh? What was that Ero Cook?!" Zoro glared at the blonde.

They bumped heads, forehead to forehead, as they kept glaring at each other and arguing loudly.

"Oy…does that remind you of someone?" Cody whispered to the mechanics nodding at the sight of the two arguing nakama. The Heart Pirates pictured the same situation, only with a certain redheaded medic and a samuri girl in Sanji's and Zoro's place. They sweat dropped. "Are they always like this?" Cody asked no one in particular.

Robin, however, answered him. "Pretty much, yes." She laughed slightly.

The Heart Pirates sweat dropped again. "We sympathize with you." They all commented at the same time, making Robin smile at the interesting display.

Shachi blinked when he noticed a very tall skeleton towering over him. "Whaaa! Captain, a dead skeleton is moving!" The mechanic took a few steps back in surprise.

Law took notice of Brook but didn't react much to it. "You must be Dead-Bones Brook." He simply said. "How interesting…is this also a devil fruit ability?"

However, Law was ignored as Brook directed all his attention to a freaked out Shachi. "How rude, I am not dead! Well….even though I am. Yohohoho!" He laughed at his own bad joke. "But I was wondering, Heart Pirates, do you have any women in your crew? I would like to see their panties-"

"Like hell!" Nami yelled from behind, slamming a fist to the skeleton's head which made Brook's face fly and burry into the snow with only his bum sticking out.

The Heart Pirates sweat dropped once more at the sight. It seems that was all they could do when facing such a crazy crew. And they had such a variety of crazies. They didn't even have time to think over that fact, when another came by.

"Hey, hey, hey, what's the rush, why the ruckus? Is it me? Is it because you are so excited to see the great Franky-sama!?" A blue haired large cyborg man came walking towards the group, doing a pose on the cold winter air with both his arms connected.

Cody's eyes went wide. "Why is this man-I mean, cyborg, half naked? He'll freeze to death!"

"Freeze to death? No way! I am suuuuper Franky!" The man made the same pose but put his arms on the other side this time. The posture created a blue star on his large robo-hands.

Behind Cody, a noise of admiration and amazement was heard and the medic was almost afraid to turn around. He didn't have to though as the mechanics stepped forward. "Whoaaa! It's a robot Shachi, a real robot!"

"Not just a robot Penguin…It's a Cyborg!" Both mechanics were circling around Franky and Cody was sure they had stars in their eye even if he couldn't see them. The cyborg pressed his nose and made an afro which brought another cheer of amazement from Shachi and Penguin. Soon enough Luffy, Chopper and Usopp joined them in their cheering as they watched Franky impress them with gadgets hidden in his body or his various hair styles. Only Nami and Robin stayed straight-faced and unimpressed.

"In any case, Strawhat. If you also signed up for the Competition then we are enemies. You shouldn't be so carefree around your adversaries." Law warned, looking at the boy who seemed like he didn't have a care in the world.

That made Luffy look back at Law while he was still hanging from Franky's back. "Hm, adverseis? The boy mispronounced the word. "But we're also friends." He grinned. "But I won't hold back either. Also, I'll be the one to be Pirate King." He still had that cheerful but confident grin on his face.

That statement made Law's body stiffen as his competitive spirit boiled on the inside. He didn't let it show on his face though, as he only smirked, showing the Strawhats his usual confident expression. "Try it if you can...but I won't lose to you Strawhat. In this competition _or_ the race to find one piece." The captain of the heart Pirates turned his back from the Strawhats with these last words and fixed the nodachi on his shoulder, before walking off.

~….~

"Ladies and gentlemen! Here comes the moment you've all been waiting for! Who will be the pirate crew that will show the best Christmas cheer and get the mysterious prize that awaits them in the end!? Please, all pirate crews proceed to the City Hall of Cheer stairs where our beloved mayor Copstickle will say a few words!" A man on stools, dressed like a cheerful pirate in a red and white winter coat walked down the streets of the town with a megaphone in his hands, announcing the beginning of the competition.

"What?! They're already starting!? But Sai and the others aren't here yet!" Shachi exclaimed nervously as he begun looking left and right for their missing crewmembers. Alas luck wasn't on his side as the cheerful streets didn't reveal any people in white jumpsuits. Then again, it would be troublesome to spot them among all that snow, decorations and crowd of colorful people.

Law made an irate expression as he thought about their next move. In the distance, he saw the Strawhats all together and prepared, with Luffy jumping up and down excitedly. The other pirate crews were slowly gathering as well. "We don't have a choice. We'll have to start without them." He finally concluded.

"But there's only five of us." Cody didn't look pleased with that solution but even he knew there was nothing else for them to do. They didn't have time to look for the rest of the group and gather them all.

"As long as they're signed up on the list, they can join us later." Jean Bart explained in hopes of putting the medic more at ease.

Meanwhile, everyone has gathered on the main square of the town in front of the City Hall. There was a big platform now where a few councilmen and the mayor of the town stood. The mayor was a short and bulky man with a fine customized suit. He had a tall top hat on his head under which was a face of a man in his late fifties, with well-groomed long mustache that connected with a black-greyish beard. The man walked up the small steps on the platform to be able to reach a den den mushi that was used to enhance the sound of his voice. Before he spoke, the mayor fixed his top hat and the collar of his suit. He cleared his throat, waiting for the crowd of interested townspeople and impatient pirate crews to quiet down. "Ladies and gentlemen! My good townsfolk and pirates from all around the world! I present to you the 105th annual Christmas Pirate Competition that will separate the great from the greatest, the best from…the bestest?" He looked back at his councilmen but the old geezers just shrugged unknowingly. The mayor turned back to his crowd, coughing lightly before continuing his speech. "As every year the winner will get the title of the Pirates with most Christmas cheer _and_ a grand mystery prize that will be worth all their troubles today!"

Law didn't care much about the tittle but he smirked at the mention of a grand prize that awaited them. From the corner of his eye he could see the Strawhats whose captain was excitedly jumping along with Chopper and Usopp, impatiently waiting for the great competition to start. Meanwhile, the navigator Nami had her eyes full of Beri, imagining the grand prize and what it will be. Law sighed, wondering how they always seemed to have so much energy. Especially their captain who was like a child, unable to sit still for a second. The rest of the crew must be having their hands full with such a captain.

Meanwhile, mayor Copstickle continued his speech. "As always, the nature of the competition and the grand prize are different every year so they would stay a surprise until the very end! This year, the competition will be….a race!" The crowd of townspeople cheered along with some of the pirate crews. Two men carried a large den den mushi to the platform and turned it on. The snail opened its big eyes and created a screen out of thin air with light coming from its eyes. The screen showed the map of this quite large winter island that consisted of four towns and two small villages. "This year our daring pirates will start from out town Icly, crossing Mt. Snowcap on foot all the way to the top where sleighs will be waiting for them. They will have to sleigh down the other side all the way until they reach and go through the Dark Forest of Pinewood into the naturally made tunnel that goes through Mt. Berg and then cross the Swamps of Murkiness until they reach Town Sickle where we will await them along with the finishing goal and the grand prize!" As the mayor spoke, a line went from the start to the goal on the screen map the den den mushi was showing, making a path of the race. "Whoever reaches the goal first is the winner! But beware…the path is dangerous and many obstacles await you! As always, all is allowed except killing...however we aren't responsible for any misfortunate accidents." The mayor quickly added, which is why all the pirates signed a contract of liability in case of an accident. "And remember…_all_ of the pirates signed in have to reach the end for it to count. It's all about teamwork people!" The mayor warned.

Shachi and Penguin gulped. "So if Miyako and the rest aren't here…" Shachi started.

"We lose even if we're first through the goal." Law finished.

"And now, let me introduce to you some of the wonderful, daring pirates that will be competing against each other this year! We have the brave warriors of the north, the Velkir Pirates!" The mayor pointed at a group of pirates who were all large, bulky and toned men, shirtless despite the cold weather. They all had large axes and swords as their weapons, looking like the Norse warriors of old times. The pirates yelled and cheered and so did the crowd.

"Next, the lovely but dangerous Banshee pirates!" The next group consisted of a woman pirate crew. They all looked tall and beautiful but deadly.

"Whooo, such pretty ladies!"~ Strawhat pirates' cook yelled and cooed with a lovestruck gaze towards the pirate girls.

They looked at him and grinned, showing sharp canines and claws that decorated their fingers instead of usual nails.

Sanji gulped but then sighed in awe. "Beautiful and dangerous…" But then turned back to his own female crewmembers, Nami and Robin. "Still there are no greater beauties than Robin-cwan and Nami-swan~!" Robin just smiled politely, amused by the cook's strange but classic actions while Nami sighed seemingly tired and annoyed by Sanji's everyday love proclamations.

"Stupid Ero-cook…" Zoro muttered. Thus began a new quarrel between the cook and the swordsman of the Strawhat pirates.

The Heart Pirates sweatdropped at the whole sight. "They really are an energetic bunch aren't they…" Cody mumbled, unsure what to think about the Strawhat pirates.

"It seems that their captain isn't the only one who is crazy." Jean Bart added.

The mayor continued announcing the pirate crews that will take part in the competition. "We also have dark and always gloomy Necro Pirates!" He pointed at yet another group. These people were all wearing black leather and their captain even wore a cape. Some had grey or red contact lenses while both male and female wore black eyeliner and other kinds of makeup. They all had dyed black hair and ghostly white faces to match. "This world…is a void of darkness." Their young captain said, though nobody really understood what he meant by that.

"Ehem, yes, well, let us continue." Mayor Copstickle decided to ignore the gloomy atmosphere that seemed to come over everyone suddenly and moved along the introductions. He pointed at Law and his crew next. "Here we also have the notorious, infamous Heart Pirates!" The crowd cheered and the mechanics couldn't help but wave around them at the excited townspeople.

"Wow, they love us." Penguin seemed really touched by the uncommon greeting they got from the townspeople. It was quite different from the usual hatred and rejection they got from civilians seeing as they were pirates.

"And on the left we have the adventurous Strawhat pirates who have come all the way from East Blue!" The mayor continued. Luffy waved at the cheering crowd, enjoying the attention while the other crewmembers smiled or smirked. Chopper had stars of awe in his big eyes, amazed at the crowd around them, while Usopp had a confident smile yelling something about the great warrior of the sea. Meanwhile, the half-naked cyborg did one of his poses and started to sing and dance. He was quite a sight; a large grown-up man wearing a winter jacket yet barefoot and without pants, only in his speedos. A few local girls screamed 'Pervert!' in embarrassment but that only seemed to make Franky proud.

"And now…last but certainly not the least…the favorites and winners of the CPC for the past 5 years in a row, our very own pirate crew of this island….Chhhriiiistmas Pirates!" If the crowd seemed excited before, they had gone completely wild now. The townspeople cheered, the local girls screamed, the children laughed. The cheers were defining and much louder than for any other pirate crew so far. The spot light shone onto a group of pirates of all sizes and gender. They all had matching red, white and green uniforms with black leather belts that secured their weapons strapped on their waist.

"This island even has its own pirate crew? They really are a pirate island." Shachi commented in wonder. Everyone was surprised by the loud cheers and adoration coming from the townsfolk. But it was no wonder seeing as the Christmas pirates were this town's own local pirate crew.

Penguin just sighed in defeat and disappointment seeing as the cheers towards them were nothing compared to this pirate crew.

"And now, everyone, get on your marks! We shall begin the annual 105th Christmas Pirate Competition!" Mayor Copstickle announced, urging the pirates to get ready.

"The rest of us are still missing." Law gritted his teeth, looking around but still no sign of them.

"Now all we can do is hope they meet us somewhere on the way…" Cody sighed, unsure about the whole thing. "I wouldn't be surprised those fools got themselves into some kind of trouble as usual."

The Heart Pirates looked at each other. After all she _was_ with them…and it seemed that where Miyako went, trouble always followed.

~…..~

"Kyaaaaaa!" The samurai girl screamed as the sleigh rushed through the sky, the snow white reindeer leading the way. It did another turn until the members were all upside down, thanking their luckily star for the seatbelts else they would have long gone fallen out and down on the hard ground. Miyako grabbed Bepo as the polar bear hugged her in return as they spun in the air, then went lower until they were rushing through a pine forest through the tree tops.

Sai was still trying to figure out the right way to handle and fly this thing, although improvement was visible. At first he almost hit every obstacle they came upon but somehow managed to keep them all alive…for now.

"We're all gonma die! And I'm sick! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna throw up and then I'm gonna die!" Josh yelled and screamed, grabbing the end of the sleigh for dear life along with the giant bag of mail they had yet to deliver. The sun was still high in the air shining upon them. After a while of loud noises from the metal contraption as if it was giving it all to continue working, the sleigh finally steadied. Sai managed to restrain the reindeer and adjusted the sleigh.

"You did it Sai!" Bepo yelled, excitedly.

"Whoo-hoooo!" Josh yelled, his demeanor changing now that they weren't in danger of losing their life anymore.

The reindeer kept on running through the air, pulling the sleigh that rushed on the afternoon sky.

Miyako looked down and saw the whole town, colorful and decorated, full of people rushing on the white streets. She saw the forests covered in snow glistening on the sunlight, the mountains up ahead covered in ice and misty air around them. "This is amazing!" Miyako exclaimed and laughed. She was flying. If somebody ever told her one day she would be in a sleigh full of pirates, pulled by flying reindeer, she would think that person was surely crazy. Yet here she was; high in the air and flying. Though she could do without the corny Santa's little helper suit…

"Hey, here's the first town we need to go!" Josh yelled out and pointed down, holding one of the boxes for delivery in his hands. Miyako read the address on the box before looking over Sai's shoulder at the map, then nodded affirmatively.

"Sai, take us lower!" She yelled against the rushing wind blowing in her face from their speedy journey.

The navigator nodded indicating he heard her and pulled on the reins a little, directing the reindeer downwards.

Miyako looked back at Bepo and Josh, then grinned mischievously. "Alright, Heart Pirates. Let me see your skill."

Bepo gave her a nod, a serious look on his face while the redhead nodded with an even wider grin than hers. "Let's go!" They all said, taking the presents, boxes and letters.

Miyako took a few letters and saw the addresses. As they went through the streets, avoiding the surprised people, the girl threw the envelops expertly right into the mail slots of the houses. Meanwhile Josh and Bepo threw down the bigger boxes and presents on the doorsteps of the houses. When they were done with the town, Sai pulled them up again and they were heading on to the next one. Down below, people were waving and smiling at them, wishing them Merry Christmas.

"Merry Christmas to you too!" Miyako yelled, waving down to the people and almost falling down in the process when the reindeer took a sharp turn and the sleigh moved suddenly. Thankfully Bepo caught her on time and pulled her back inside. "Whew, thanks Bepo. That was close."

"Be a bit more careful, you'll die from this height, ya' know!" Josh warned giving the girl a stern look but it was hard to take him seriously in his little reindeer costume. If he wasn't such a grouch all the time, Miyako would find him adorable. Still, the most adorable was surely the polar bear with his big red nose and reindeer antlers on his fuzzy head.

After a few hours of going from town to town and village to village, sending all the mail to the right addresses, the bag was now considerably smaller and the Heart Pirates considerably more tired.

Josh took out another boxed present from the bag. "Almost done…" He said and looked at the item in his hands. He could hear quiet ticking coming from inside. The redhead put his ear closer and listened carefully. "Hey, this box is ticking."

Miyako shrugged, uninterested. "There must be a clock inside." She looked down and saw they were nearing closer to another town. "Ok, drop it here."

"No you idiot, it's the next street!" Josh countered, not letting go of the present.

"I'm telling you it's this house over here, look at the map!" Miyako tried to grab the present from him to throw it down as Sai slowly started lowering the sleighs.

"No, it's the first house on the next street. Just read the address! Let go!" Josh wouldn't give as he pulled the box back from Miyako's grasp.

"H-hey guys, be careful." Bepo warned unsure how to stop them but he was ignored as the pair started arguing and grabbing at the present. Neither of them wanted to give, both stubborn, as they pulled the box back and forth.

Finally Josh pulled too hard, making Miyako lose her grip but unluckily Josh lost the grip as well and his hands slid along the smooth red wrapping paper as the box slipped out of his hands. It started falling down below. "No!" They both yelled, looking at the falling box.

However, before it could fall to the ground, right when it was somewhere in the middle path between the sleigh and the town below, the box suddenly exploded.

"Whaa!" Everyone yelled surprised as the blast threw the sleighs off their path and scared the reindeer making it hard for Sai to control them. The sleighs started rushing downwards and the Heart Pirates grabbed on anything they could as they passed through the treetops, breaking good chunks of tree branches with them. After a while, Sai was able to calm the reindeer down and move up in the air again.

"Wh-what was that?!" Bepo freaked out in panic, remembering the big explosion that could've killed all of them if the box was still in the sleigh.

"If we had thrown it to the house sooner…it would have blown it up." Miyako muttered in a whisper, unable to get over her shock. She was still staring at the black smoke where the box exploded, with her now wide golden eyes.

~….~

A group of pirates were sitting in the back room of the tavern, away from everyone else. It didn't matter much since the place was half empty anyway. Everyone were already gathered at the town's square preparing for the Christmas Pirate Competition, leaving this group to have their own little private meeting in the darkness.

"It won't be too long now…" One pirate said.

"Indeed. We did good to break the sorting machine. They won't even realize until it's too late…that we actually adapted that machine. Through the chaos they won't even notice that some of the addresses it will send the mail is to the mayor and those old councilmen geezers." The man laughed and sipped from his pint of rum.

"And some of those boxes have _our_ presents inside…." A pirate woman said, giggling.

"The bombs will explode at the set time and create fire, chaos and destruction throughout the land!" One who looked like the captain, said a bit too loud. Then added "Shhhh!" warningly as if it was somebody else talking.

"But captain….why are we taking over this land anyway?" A short pirate asked, scratching his balding head.

"Fool! These towns in this island are all prosperous, didn't you notice? Besides, every powerful pirate nowadays has his territory. All the Yonkou have their own islands and lands, so if we want to be serious pirates we obviously need some too!" The captain of the group exclaimed, too loudly again and now everyone, along with him made a "Shhhh!" warning.

"The bombs will go off at the end of the race, and everyone will be gathered up already so it will be easy to attack them all at once. They will be surprised and therefore vulnerable." The woman added.

"Serity, I wanted to say that!" The captain complained.

"I'm sorry, captain Mungus." The woman cooed but smirked, not really feeling sorry at all.

"And then…this whole island will be ours _and_ we'll take care of some of the pirate crews, destroying the competition!" The pirate group all raised their mugs and tapped them against each other, laughing all the while.

"Hey, captain! I just thought of something; What if the postal office goes and delivers all the packages manually instead of using the sorting machine?"

Everyone stopped and stayed quit, then suddenly burst into laughter. "Don't be silly, how would they deliver all those packages all across this large and vast island manually!?"

"Besides, it doesn't matter…we put some bombs into normal presents and packages of other people as well. They will be distributed all across the island, one way or the other." The woman explained.

"Hey, Serity, you did it again! I wanted to explain that!" the captain wailed.

"Sorry, Captain Mungus~" The woman sang in a velvety voice.

~….~

"What do we do?! There might be more bombs in the packages that we delivered to their destinations!" Miyako said slightly panicking.

On the other hand, Bepo was completely panicking. "There might be bombs even in this bag! What if they explode?! We need to throw it away from us quickly!" The polar bear already started going for the bag, determined to throw away all of its contents down below.

"Wait, but there might also be real mail in there. We can't just throw it all away!" Miyako tried to stop him.

"Hey, I'm with Bepo, I don't want to risk something exploding in here while we're close to it and in the air." Josh added, helping Bepo to move the large bag.

"But what about all those places where we already sent to packages?!" Miyako wasn't one to give up easily as she held the bag, preventing them to throw it off the sleigh.

Sai turned towards them from his front seat and shrugged. "Captain Law would say to just leave them, they're not our problem."

"Of course they are! We're the ones who gave the packages to them!" Miyako countered trying to change everyone's minds.

"Hey, we did even more than necessary for these people and their towns. We don't owe them anything." Josh complained, grabbing the bag again and wrestling with the large thing to try and throw it over the sleigh, below.

"Please?!" Miyako gave a wide puppy-eyed expression to Sai, her golden eyes sparkling with expectation and adjuration.

Sai blinked, silent for a while, then gave Miyako a half-lidded look that said he was not impressed. "I'm neither Cody nor Bepo, Miya-chan, that won't work on me."

The girl let out a breath and gave him a disappointed pouting expression as she gave up. She should've known her pleading expression wouldn't work on Sai, even in the short, tight, red outfit she was wearing. "Still, we have a duty to finish our job that we started don't we?" She tried wining with logic and appealing to their sense of duty instead. Her eyes were now staring at Josh, piercing the redhead with a pleading look.

"We did what we could…" Josh muttered, trying to get out of it and not look Miyako in the eyes.

Her gaze turned back to Sai, still wide with expectation. "And what would your sister say, Sai-san, if she knew you let all these people die yet you could've saved them." Now that was a hard, finishing blow. It was clear in Sai's expression that he had lost as soon as Miyako mentioned his sister.

"Ok, ok I get it…Fine. We'll take back all the mail we sent so far, leave the bag outside of town and see what the mayor and the postal office say to all of it." The navigator hatched a new plan, then turned the reins and went back the way they came from.

Miyako grinned at her victory, but mostly because of the reliable friends she knew she had.

~…~

"A-a! Before we start, one more thing!" The mayor announced. "The pirate crews, or rather their respective captain, need to show everyone their Christmas spirit in this competition! With that said; you all have your captain uniforms awaiting for you at the start so be sure to change into them!" The short mayor Copstickle announced.

Law looked at his crew, who looked back at him uneasily. He was feeling the dread of the situation before he even laid eyes on the horrible piece of clothing that screamed in its red and white colors. The captain took it and eyed the horror in front of him. There was a red jacket with fuzzy white rims with a hood in the back. A similar red pants completed the uniform with a black belt to top it all.

"No." Law simply said, glaring at the mayor and the officials.

The rest of the pirates weren't pleased either. Except the Christmas pirates whose ridiculous clothing already looked similar to this one, and the Strawhats whose captain looked exciting by the fact that he will get his own colorful uniform in the team.

"Now, now captains. If you don't wear a proper uniform, you can't compete." The mayor sang with an excited tone, smiling down at them from his platform. "Santa outfit is a big part of every Christmas after all. Now show that Christmas spirit and put on your cheerful uniforms!"

Law growled at the piece of clothing in his hands, reluctant even after the mayor's words. He just couldn't bring himself to wear it.

"Strawhat is doing it…" Cody noted next to Law, nodding in the direction of the other pirate captain.

With disdain, Law saw the other captain already happily dressing in his new outfit. The other captains obliged after a while and started dressing with sighing expression. As much as Law hated it, he couldn't give up now, before even stating the race and losing because of it. Besides, didn't he promise the Strawhats he would beat them…he would look like a fool if he backed out now. With much resentment and gritted teeth, Law closed his eyes and started taking off his long black coat to replace it with a screaming red jacket.

Jean Bart cleared his throat beside Law. "And the pants…captain." The navigator reminded.

"I know Mister Bart." Law answered, irritated and through still gritted teeth. He was glaring at the bright red pants before pulling them on without even taking off his usual trousers first. There was no need since the Santa pants were big enough…too big. He had to tighten up the belt around them so they wouldn't fall off his slender waist.

The rest of the Heart Pirates looked at each other nervously, seeing how moody and annoyed their captain has become. Though they were more worried about the rest of the pirate crews when their captain was in such dark and sour mood. The expression of fury was clear in his stormy eyes even as he tried his best to stay calm and collected on the surface.

The crews all gathered at the starting line, watching the mayor who raised his hand with a single pistol, ready to mark the start of the race. Meanwhile, Luffy was doing something strange as he grabbed two poles at the starting line and stood behind his whole crew.

"W-wait Luffy, what are you doing?" Nami had a pretty good idea already but hoped it was not so.

"Luffy, wait, don't-" Usopp tried to stop his captain but the pistol went off and the race started. Luffy let go and used himself as a rubber slingshot, taking along all of his crewmembers with him as he catapulted them into the air and towards the mountain that was their new destination. "Hyaaaa!" The Strawhat pirates yelled as they were flung into the air with dashing speed.

"Good luck, Torao!" Luffy yelled while still in the air, turning his rubber head unnaturally towards Law and his group.

The Heart pirates watched wide eyed and in shock at the display before them. However, Law's surprise soon turned into a usual smug smirk. "Anything goes, right?" He asked no one in particular. "Room." With one word, a large blue sphere appeared all around them and went even further, towards the mountain. The rest of his crew looked at each other and gulped nervously, knowing that their captain already had a plan.

~…..~

Josh panted as him and Bepo let go of the heavy and once again full bag, letting it fall into a small crater on one of the mountain tops.

"There, nobody will come near them here." Bepo looked down from the sleighs.

"I still can't believe that lady started hitting me with her purse when I tried to take the package away from her." Josh said, still panting and tired from hours of work.

"Neither can I. She thought you were robbing her." Miyako laughed, remembering the scene.

"All those hours of hard work wasted…that's what I can't believe." Sai continued the discussion. "Once I find out who is behind all this I will make them pay dearly." His dark expression reminded everyone of their captain in his worst moods. "I can believe we had to do all that work for nothing, just to take all the mail back and be where we started."

"Well we're not exactly where we started." Miyako tried to cheer him up, showing him the bright side of things. "I mean, we discovered some kind of conspiracy on this island and now we know they are all in danger. We can warn them now."

"As always, you're too nice to strangers Miyako. Why do you care so much what happen to this island anyway?" Josh shrugged, only half listening to the girl as he outstretched on the back seat of the sleigh.

"I think a better question is, how do you not?!" The samurai girl asked sternly, glaring at the redhead with an expression of a mother reprimanding her child. Then she closed her eyes and repeated the words of her wise master with an important tone. "You will receive the way you give. The kindness you bestow upon others will be shown towards you as well."

Josh just rolled his eyes without a comment, not wanting to get into that discussion. He learnt already how much Miyako respected her deceased master and how important his words were to her, as she often quoted him.

"In any case, let's go back to the town for now. We need to meet up with captain and rest of the crew." Bepo suggested, imposing his will as the first mate though nobody seemed much taken by it.

However, his statement made Josh jump to the sitting position, his forest green eyes widening. "The competition! We were meant to meet up with Shachi and the others! What if it's already started!?" The medic was almost jumping with impatience now as he panicked.

Which only made Bepo panic with him. "Oh, no! What will we do?!"

"I suggest you sit and hold tight then…we're rushing!" Sai exclaimed before taking the reins and hurrying back to the town. The reindeer made a sharp turn and ran back, pulling the metal contraption with them. It started moving so fast that the Heart Pirates slammed back into their seats and almost fell out, unprepared for the sudden speed.

~…~

"Captain…we're…almost…at the….top…" Penguin said, pointing at the little red flag on the mountain. His cheeks were now red from the harsh winter wind that was blowing against them, prickling their skin. Luckily, Law and his crew being from the North Blue were used to such conditions and didn't seem to mind much. Still, the climb was hard and steep. Now and then Law had to use his powers to transport them or cut down some rocks. At one point, a small avalanche occurred thanks to the Christmas Pirates who somehow got to the top first even though they simply disappeared from the track all together at one point, and then appeared at the top, creating an avalanche to try and slow down the rest. Luckily, Jean Bart was big enough to protect the Heart Pirates with his whole body, not even a scratch on him. The Strawhats dealt with the situation as well; Robin created giant wings with her devil fruit power and lifted everyone on Luffy's back who inflated like a balloon.

"The sleighs for the next part of the race should be waiting for us up there! Let's hurry!" Shachi added, looking back at the Necro pirates and the Banshee Pirates still climbing the mountain behind them. The Velkir pirates were right behind them, dangerously closing in.

The Heart pirates moved up and finally came to the top only to stop in surprise. Law's eyes widened slightly as he saw the sight. The sleigh that were designated for them were completely broken and parts were everywhere.

"What? Someone dismantled our ride!?" Penguin exclaimed in panic that was slowly creeping on him.

"We don't have time to fix it." Cody said and hurried to take one of the other sleighs. Every sleigh had a jolly roger of the pirate crew they belonged to but nobody said the pirates had to take their own ride.

However, Law's sharp eye caught on one particular detail on the metal sleigh and grabbed Cody's hand, stopping him from entering the sleigh.

He stepped aside, letting the Velkir pirates pass them by and they all jumped into one of the sleigh. The sleigh went downhill but then when the pirates tried to avoid the first obstacle, a big rock, they realized they had no control over the vehicle or the breaks. The pirates smashed on the rock, metal and wooden pieces of the sleigh flying everywhere, as the members flew in the air, landing painfully on the snow or into trees before sliding down the trunk down on the ground.

"They've all been tempered with!" Cody yelled in surprise, watching the Velkir pirates trying to get on their feet but still slow and dizzy. In the meantime, the Strawhats realized something was wrong with their own sleigh but managed to avoid crashing with Luffy inflating into a ball that served as a rubber cushion between them and the rocks, Robin used her devil fruit to grab on some trees when they needed to turn while Zoro and Sanji cut and smashed everything in their way. All of that gave Franky enough time to use his knowledge to fix the breaks and even add some engine power to the sleighs.

Law's eyes narrowed in frustration as he saw Luffy and his crew in front of them. His competitive voice whispered in his mind, not wanting to lose to the Strawhats. But what could they do? They couldn't use the sleighs given to them. "I doubt this was a part of the race…It must be the doing of one of the pirate groups."

"But who? Only the Christmas pirates and Strawhats were in front of us though I don't think they had the time to do it anyway. And Velkir pirates obviously didn't know about it…" Shachi commented, sweatdroping at the pathetic sight of the strong warriors.

"Talking about the Christmas pirates….where are they anyway?" Cody muttered not seeing them on the path down the mountain.

"Did they really get ahead so much?" Jean Bart muttered. Not even the large man could see them and he saw quite far away both due to his tall built and sharp navigator eye.

Law's eye narrowed again as a thought started forming in the young captain's sharp mind. Indeed, how did they move so quickly? He looked at the judges who were following the race from above, inside air balloons. But none of them reacted to anything illicit yet, as if they didn't find anything suspicious at all.

The other pirates realized there was something wrong with the sleighs soon enough. The Banshee pirates didn't find it that hard to deal with as their captain was a zoan type fruit user. She turned into a large crow, giant enough to take the sleighs filled with her crewmembers in her large claws and fly away with it. The Necro pirates' captain was a logia type, and his arms soon turned into oily black goo, presumably tar, creating a slick trail for their sleigh to slide on. The captain then smirked and shot some at the raven woman of the Banshee pirates, sticking up her feathers and wings with the tar which made the woman lose her ability to fly and crash down along with her pirate crew. The screams could be heard for a long while as the Banshee pirates rolled down the snow-covered mountains like a giant ball.

"What do we do, captain?" Cody asked uncertain, looking at Law.

Trafalgar was just about to use his powers again to try and make a contraption of some sort that would lead them down below when a voice called out to him from above. Wait…above?

"Law!" It was undeniably Miyako's voice that called out and the Heart Pirates looked up to see a large metal contraption of some sorts, in which were Josh, Miyako and Bepo. Sai was in the front, reins in hand and that's when Law noticed the white animals pulling the said sleigh.

"What the…?" Shachi and Penguin both said at the same time as they stared up at the unusual but wondrous sight.

"Come on!" Josh called and Sai moved the sleigh so Law and the others could get in. Everything seemed fine and dandy until Jean Bart sat down. They hardly had enough room with the navigator's large body occupying most of the space, but the weight was an even bigger issue. It was too much for the sleighs and the animals to handle.

With a surprised yelped, the Heart pirates fell down along with the sleigh and no butterfly powder helped them back up again. "We'll have to continue on the ground." Sai said, rushing the reindeer as the animals ran quickly down the mountain. They passed the crashed sleigh of the Velkir pirates and the snow bundle of Banshee pirates that finally stopped when it hit a large tree on the road.

"Where did you get this?!" Cody asked still unable to believe that their crewmates came at the right time with a right solution to their problems. It was as if Lady Luck wasn't only smiling upon them but shining her rays down on them brightly. He then noticed all of them dressed in strange costumes. "And why are you dressed like that?"

"Don't ask…" Miyako commented with a sour look, muttering something about having enough of Christmas outfits for the rest of her life.

"Actually I don't think we are allowed to use the sleigh for this. Didn't the clerk girl warn us…" Bepo started, remembering that they were only allowed to use this vehicle for delivery purposes and were to bring it back in the exactly same condition they got it.

"It's fine, don't worry about it Bepo!" Josh said grinning and cutting the bear off. But telling Bepo not to worry was like telling a fish not to swim; it came natural to the bear.

"We were…back from a little errand and then noticed the competition had already started so we came to help. You seemed to be in need of a ride anyway." Miyako explained, winking at the stunned group, a mischievous smile on her face and an amused glint in her eyes.

She smiled at Law and the captain gave her one of his smirks, amused by the lucky coincidence.

However, they're short moment was interrupted by a bump on the road, making the sleigh tip on one side dangerously and almost losing its balance but everyone soon shifted their weight and aligned the contraption again back on its track.

"I don't know what's going on but I'm glad you're finally here!" Penguin laughed, still in disbelief from the whole situation.

"Captain, up ahead!" Sai called out and nodded in the direction of the Strawhats in front of them. Luffy's crew was nearly down at the foot of the mounting and heading for the Dark Forest of Pinewood in their sleigh. Still, before reaching the foot of the mountain the Heart Pirates had to pass the Necro pirates who noticed that Law and his group were gaining on them. By the dark pirates' expression, they didn't like that fact one bit. The captain turned towards Law's sleigh and was about to fire more of his black tar to surround and engulf the Heart Pirates with it.

Miyako put a hand on her sword, ready to unsheathe it and attack but Law was quicker, creating his room and making it circle all around them and the Necro pirates. Trafalgar stood up, impressively holding his balance on the racing sleighs as he moved two fingers with a smirk. "Tact" he said and suddenly a boulder rose up from the ground right in front of the Necro Pirates. They didn't have time to avoid the rock and crashed right into it with powerful speed, both people and sleigh pieces flying everywhere.

"Ouch…that'll hurt in the morning." Josh joked as he grimaced at the sight of the crash. Still, a gleeful smirk lingered on his mouth.

Unfortunately, Sai took a quick glance at the sight which cost him. He didn't notice the hump of snow on the road until it was already too late to go around it. He looked at the reindeer in front; they were getting tired and slower while the sleigh speed only increased with the weight inside. Jean Bart alone was enough to use inertia to its fullest. He took out a knife he always had inside his jumpsuit and cut the reins, setting the reindeer free. The animals jumped to the side instantly. "Guys…hold tight!" He warned as the sleigh leaped into the air seconds later and then abruptly crashed back down, luckily on the right side, as they kept sliding down. Soon the Heart Pirates were aligned with the Strawhats and the two groups looked at each other.

"Hey, Toraoguy!" Luffy yelled through his laughter and waved at the other captain. The boy was obviously having fun even though most of his crew was screaming for their dear life heading down the mountain.

"Monkey D. Luffy?!" Both Bepo and Miyako exclaimed in surprise as their eyes widened in shock and confusion. What was _he_ doing here?

The mountain soon ended and they entered the Dark Forest of Pinewood but soon realized a new problem. The forest was thick with trees and it was impossible for even an expert to avoid them for long. However, neither group had breaks to stop.

"Heh, if you confront an obstacle…just cut it down!" Both Miyako and Zoro said at the same time as they stood up on the still rushing sleighs. The rest of the two pirate crews watched in wonder as both the swordsman and the swordswoman took their own stances. Miyako held her scabbard with the left hand in a battojutsu stance, a steady right hand on the hilt of her katana, ready to pull it out. Zoro already unsheathed two of his swords, holding each one in one of his hands and staring up ahead with his eye.

The samurai unleashed her sword, making a large cut in the air. _Ittouryu Secret Technique; Bamboo Grass Dance!_

At the same time, Zoro moved his two swords; _Nanajūni Pondo Hō! _72slices came from the swords he swung, cutting everything in their path.

Both sword wielders cut the forest in front of them creating a path up ahead and clearing it for their crews. The two looked at each other, each not wanting to back out and break the staring contest. That is, until they were both pulled down by their respective crewmates seeing as they would fall out from the bumpy ride ahead.

"The tunnel is up ahead!" Sai called out, pointing at the narrow passageway. "But only one sleigh will fit inside!" he finished realizing it won't be so easy to enter. At least not with the Strawhat pirates right beside them.

The two vehicles bumped into each other, each crew trying to throw the other one off the course but they were evenly matched.

"Ara. At this rate, we'll both crash and die." Robin said with an unusual calmness.

"Don't say it so calmly!" Usopp yelled, tears of fright and panic clear in his eyes. Unlike the older woman, Usopp was clearly freaking out at the situation.

"Captain!?" Miyako turned to Law with worried eyes, as they were dangerously close to the tunnel now.

Law's eyes narrowed as he made a dark expression, almost as if he was glaring at the tunnel ahead. "Jean Bart-ya, keep your head down as low as you can." He instructed with unusual calmness that only Robin's tone could measure with. "Everyone, when I give the signal, lean on the left."

"huh?" Josh asked.

"Now!" Law ordered.

The Heart pirates did as they were told even without understanding the reason for it. Luckily, Law's sharp eye caught something glistening in the tunnel before they entered it and the captain realized it was ice; the whole tunnel was coated in it on all sides. Due to their speed and the slippery surface of the ice, the sleigh managed to slide left and up, sliding and riding on the wall while the Strawhats' vehicle entered at the same time but still on the ground. Meanwhile, the Heart Pirates' sleighs moved even higher on the ice, reaching the roof of the tunnel now and driving on it like some kind of dangerous rollercoaster ride.

"Wha!? Nami, why didn't we do that!" Luffy whined and complained at the navigator who was driving, amazed at the sight of the sleigh above them with the screaming Heart Pirates inside.

"Shut up, I'm having a hard time controlling this thing as it is!" The girl yelled, hitting Luffy and pushing him to his seat in the back.

"Noooo, make it stooooop!" Josh was yelling as the sleigh drove on the roof of the tunnel. He was never so glad he had a seatbelt on as he was now.

"I hate this riiiide!" Miyako screamed right beside him. The two were holding onto each other for dear life as if that could help them somehow. Only then did they realize they were hugging each other and holding on tightly. The two quickly entangled from one another with a surprised yelp and moved as far away from each other as the space let them.

Meanwhile, Law leaned right and that made the sleigh move to the opposite wall and finally end up back on the ground, right in front of Strawhat pirates' sleigh. He smirked at the small victory but didn't have much time to contemplate on it as they came out of the tunnel, bright light shining right into his eyes and making his squint. He had to put one tattooed hand in front of him to block out the sun and get a better view of what was awaiting them up ahead. Nothing good by the looks of it.

"Those must be the Swamps of Murkiness." Shachi pointed at the sight before them. There were lakes of mud and muck, with only some small greenery around them. They seemed deep, with bubbles rising up to the surface of the filthy water every now and then. The Heart Pirates didn't see any crossing as everything looked like quickmud that would swallow both them and the sleigh altogether if they fell in it.

"Is there no dry land here whatsoever?" Cody asked in frustration. He was getting sick with this whole race and hoped the mystery prize was well worth all this trouble.

There wasn't even a log or a three to use as a bridge. Everything was just muddy wasteland. "Room." Law wasn't about to get discouraged by that fact as he called out his blue sphere. "We'll have to manage." He muttered and raised both hands in command. The ground around them and beneath them started shaking. The sleighs were now slowing down from the sticky mud that replaced snow and ice, as if the swamp was trying to grab at them and pull them into the suffocating darkness below the murky waters. Soon, the ground shook even more as Law used his powers until one of the swamp lakes started spilling away and the ground that was the floor of the swamp before rose up into a steep platform.

"But it's still too wet, we'll get stuck." Jean Bart commented.

"Not if we're fast enough. Everyone, lean up front." Cody commanded this time and the Heart Pirates did exactly that. The sleighs leaped into the air as they did on the snowy mountain before, flying through the sky for a while before they started descending rapidly.

Law called out the blue sphere of his Room one more time, followed by Tact as he created another steep platform from the ground; this time letting them land on it and slide down, using the slippery mud and swamp water to gain more speed.

"Coup the burst!" The Heart Pirates heard a voice behind them and the group turned only to be stunned by the sight. The Strawhat's shipwright Franky was using his butt to propel their sleigh into the air by using gas. Miyako scrunched up her nose in a disgusted expression as she smelt a different kind of stink than the one coming from the swamps.

"These guys really are crazy…every last one of them!" Josh exclaimed holding his nose in a futile attempt to get away from the bad smell.

"But they're resourceful, you gotta give 'em that." Shachi added in a muffled voice since he was also holding a hand over his face to protect himself from the stench.

"Look, it's the finish line! We're here!" Miyako yelled excitedly as she almost stood up completely in the sleigh, propping herself on Bepo's back and balancing herself that way.

With a loud thud, the Strawhat's sleigh landed right beside them, splashing mud everywhere. They were once again perfectly aligned with the Heart Pirates, racing for the goal.

"Whoo-hoo! Come on guys, just a bit more!" Luffy yelled and laughed, enjoying this competition to the fullest.

"Everyone lean forward to gain some speed." Law ordered, not wanting to lose to the younger captain.

The sleighs were aligned, then Strawhats' tip took the lead, but only for a second before the Heart Pirates sleigh's tip passed it. So it went until the final second, both pirate crews nearing the goal until they passed the red line drawn on the ground, Heart Pirates only by the tip of their sleigh in front of the Strawhats. The sleighs went on and into Town Sickle, the crowd cheered, Sai moved the sleighs horizontally so they would stop while splashing the snow in the process.

"Aaand the Heart Pirates win second place by an inch before the Strawhat pirates who are at third place!" The announcer yelled on his megaphone making the townspeople cheer even louder.

"Whoot! We did it! We are-….Second place?" Miyako's cheering stopped as she blinked in confusion. "But then whose the first?"

"The first place was won by our very own crew Christmas pirates!" Mayor Copstickle announced showing the group of pirates who were waving and grinning at the cheering masses. "And with that, they will both receive the title of best Christmas spirited pirates _and_ this prize of…. 100,000,000 Beli!"

"But how.,.? We didn't even see them on the road!" Nami exclaimed, still perplexed by the whole development by the situation. How was it possible for the Christmas pirates to move ahead so quickly, without anyone noticing? Did they have some special devil fruit power? Or did they simply know the terrain so well?

Meanwhile, the other pirate crews dragged to the town, one after the other and the judges announced them coming. After Heart Pirates came the Velkir pirates who were able to pull themselves together and cross the finish line. Then came the Necro pirates and finally the Banshee pirates in last place. They all looked quite beat up and tired, panting and in wounds. It seems there was quite a struggle between these pirate groups as they battled on to cross the finish line before the others.

"Perhaps I can explain that mystery." Robin announced, after the townspeople and the mayor all quieted down. "How the Christmas pirates won first place, that is." She explained after seeing puzzled gazes turned her way. There was still a smile on her face as she spoke in an amused tone. "I also found it weird after the Christmas Pirates mysteriously disappeared as we were climbing up Mt. Snowcap, but then reappeared at the top before any of us. It seemed very unlikely after all."

Now everyone's stares were directed at the female archeologist as she explained. The only one who didn't look puzzled by her words was Trafalgar Law, who only looked at the woman silently. He already knew what she was about to say, because he noticed the same thing on the way. Still, there was nothing to do about it as they raced through the dangerous paths of the island.

Robin continued. "So I used my Hana Hana no Mi to investigate a little." The woman opened her palm and an eye opened there, with the same blue irises the woman possessed. After a few times of blinking, it closed and disappeared, only leaving three petals behind to fall on the snowy ground. Without anyone noticing, those same eyes appeared on other parts of the track during the race, closely watching the Christmas Pirates and their moves. "I found out that Christmas pirates often went off the track, using secret passages and short cuts to move and get ahead of us, thus winning the race in the end."

"But…Such a thing wasn't allowed!" A rather busty girl from the Necro pirates exclaimed in shock and anger.

"Indeed. Wouldn't the judges notice? They were above us in the air balloons the whole time." The captain of the Banshee pirates added.

"They did…But it didn't matter because they were in on it from the start. Along with the mayor and the councilmen." This time it was Law who spoke up, explaining the rest. He didn't look as amused as Robin as he stared darkly towards the council members. He didn't enjoy being played for a fool like this. Not after all the trouble they went through. "This is why the Christmas pirates win every year. The race is a great opportunity for the town to get some profit from the tourism yet keep all the prize money for themselves in the end."

"Is that true!?" Luffy looked back at the mayor accusingly. "You tricked us!"

Everything was quiet now….the townspeople and the pirate crews all stared at the mayor who was now looking at them and sweating nervously. "Y-y-you don't have any proof…this is ridiculous. Just accusations of sore losers!" He took a step back, feeling as if under a great magnifier glass where everyone was inspecting his every move. Listening closely to his every word.

"Yet there are is no mud from the Swamps of Murkiness on their sleigh. There is hardly even any snow or grass, while all the other sleighs look tattered and beaten up from the race." Cody noted, showing everyone the perfectly well-kept sleigh.

"T-that doesn't mean anything! It only means we are good at what we do! You can't blame us for that!" the captain of the Christmas pirates exclaimed, taking a step back from the angry mob.

However, other pirate groups didn't listen as they stepped closer to the Christmas pirates and the councilmen grouped with the mayor, who were now all huddled up together. Some of the local people looked angry since they have been fooled for so long, believing in these false heroes, while others simply looked disappointed. But other pirate groups all had a dark or angry look in their eyes, glaring down on the pirates in front of them. The Velkir pirates crackled their knuckles in preparation, while the Banshee pirates sharpened their clawed fingernails, the silver steel shining and glistening on the dying sunlight of the day. The Necro pirates' captain already turned his hands into black tar, as the oily mass dripped onto the white snow, contaminating it with a sickening look. Luffy had an expression between disappointment and anger as he stared at the mayor and his men. Meanwhile, Law had more of a sadistic expression as the blue sphere started forming around them all and the captain of the Heart pirates started unsheathing his nodachi. The rest of his group looked angry and ready to attack as well, Miyako pulling out her katana and the others preparing their fists.

"T-this was all your idea, Copstickle! It's all your fault!" The captain of the Christmas pirates yelled out in a tearful voice full of fear and anxiety.

"Shut up you fool!" The mayor screamed back, trying to hide behind one of the fatter councilmembers.

However, everyone stopped when they heared a new voice, somewhere higher up. It was a woman's laughter no doubt, as it bounced off of the nearby mountains and hills, echoing through the town. "Hohohoho! It seems there are already riots going on before we even entered the scene!"

"Look, over there!" Chopper exclaimed as he pointed at one of the higher rooftops of the town.

A woman in pink leather, with baby blonde hair and a large pink hat decorated with an even larger white feather, stood on the rooftop, looking down at the scene.

Soon, another man joined her, bulky and big in build. "Sarity, I wanted to be the first to enter the scene! I'm the captain!" He complained, giving the woman a stern and reprimanding look.

"I'm sorry captain Mungus." The woman put a hand on her lips as if she just realized she did an error, but her smile and amused expression didn't show any regret in her.

One after another, a group appeared, all standing at the rooftop until a dozen people stood high above, looking down at the town and its people.

"Who are you?" the mayor asked nervously. A part of him was glad that the focus wasn't on him anymore but the other part was worried that things were about to get much worse instead. His troubles were far from over.

"Glad you asked!" Another man showed up, short in build and he seemed to be balding even though he was in his early thirties.

"We are the mighty Razing pirates! And just like out name suggests, we will demolish this place and burn it to the ground if you don't follow our demands!"

Everyone looked at each other, surprised by the constant change of pace in the scenario as it keeps constantly shifting and changing, making people confused by the whole ordeal. Confused and tired of it, one would dare say.

"What do you want!?" The mayor dared to speak again, looking at the newcomers suspiciously.

The captain of the Razing Pirates grinned and suddenly jumped down with a loud thud as his sturdy boots hit the ground. The rest of his crew jumped after him, landing around their captain and making quite a sight of pirates armed to the teeth. "We want your island!" The captain, still grinning answered with a menacing and bloodthirsty look in his eye.

"In a matter of seconds, there will be bombs exploding all around this island, bringing everyone into chaos and taking you by surprise. You won't be able to comprehend what is happening with fires and explosions all around you!" The woman of the Razing pirates continued the nasty threats.

Miyako and some of the Heart pirates looked at each other knowingly but didn't comment on anything.

However, Cody spoke instead. "But…if you wanted to surprise attack us, shouldn't you have waited for the bombs to go off first?"

Everything was quiet as all the stares were directed at the Razing pirates, awaiting their answer to a perfectly logical question coming from the medic. Still, Razing pirates remind silent as well, realizing the mistake they made. They hadn't thought of that…

"That's….a good point actually." One of the pirates in the Razing crew said.

"N-no matter! The bombs we set will blow everything away soon and we will take control of this island and finally have our own territory!" the captain yelled. His took out a small device with a single button and pushed it quickly. True enough, as he said, an explosion was heard and the ground shook from the size of the blast. Somewhere in the far distance a smoke rose up in the air, sending shivers through the ground. The explosion created a crater on one of the mountains before a huge avalanche started falling from it, swallowing everything on its way as the powerful snow and ice seeped down from the lone mountain. Luckily, it was far away from everything and everyone so nobody could get hurt. Something started glistening and falling from the sky and soon the people realized it were envelopes and simple charred paper, or to be exact it was their mail; letter and packages. A burning box fell from the sky, hitting the ground hard and slowly burning out on the snow in front of the group.

"Was that a volcano?" A girl from the Necro pirates asked?

"Nope. That was about a tone of mail." Josh answered still staring at the sky filled with charred papers and letters falling everywhere.

Sai took out an envelope from his jumpsuit and sighed in relief. For a while he was worried that he too had left his letter for his sister in the bag, but luckily he remembered to keep it safe. He couldn't say the same about all the mail they put away on that mountain after collecting back every piece of mail they sent out. The postal service might be mad about the sleigh later but they'll be happy to know their reputation stayed intact. It would be rather embarrassing having to explain while most of the mail they delivered blew up along with the recipients.

Everything and everyone stood quiet for what seemed like ages. That's when the Razing pirates decided to act. "Well this is embarrassing…it seems we failed." The captain of the group cleared his throat. "Heh, well….then, we'll just quietly-" They all started subtly walking away, trying to escape after this failed attempt but alas they didn't come far before the other pirate groups surrounded them.

"Room"

"Clutch"

"Gomu gomu no…"

"Nitouryuu…"

"Itouryuu…"

"Franky Beam!"

"Horn point!"

"Yohohoh! Yahazu Giri!"

"Kung fu mode..."

"Taru taru no…"

~….~

Moans of pain and agony came from the Razing pirates as they laid on the ground beaten to a pulp, cuts all over, covered in tar that prevented them from escaping though they probably couldn't anyway since their body parts were mashed up and scrambled.

Miyako nodded satisfied and sheathed back her katana. "I'm glad that's over with." She looked at Law standing beside her and that's when she noticed the screaming red Santa outfit he was wearing. The girl smirked, not able to contain her amusement even if it could cost her. He was in an obvious bad mood right now. "Nice outfit…" She kept her tone light and teasing on purpose.

"Not a word Miss Miyako." The pirate captain warned through gritted teeth, remembering what he was wearing at the moment. And to think he almost forgot with everything that happened.

"Oh no, I'm just saying; it takes a very secure man to walk around dressed like that." She just couldn't stop. She knew it could lead to a world of misery and pain, but her character and that big mouth of hers were just too much for her. She couldn't resist the urge even if she wanted to.

Law glared at the distance, gritting his teeth even harder if that was humanly possible before turning to the samurai girl with an annoyed look. "I could say the same thing to you."

That seemed to take the girl out of her zone, as he made her remember her own embarrassing attire at the moment. She made an uncomfortable face suddenly not finding the situation so funny. She wanted to counter back but was cut off by a yell coming their way.

It was none other than Sanji, Strawhat's cook. "Oooooh, Law, my respect for you has just grown!"

Both Miyako and Law blinked in confusion as Sanji ran up to them with a sleazy and quite uncomfortably looking expression directed at Miyako. And was he actually sniffing her? He looked at her outfit up and down, several times. "Nice." With a grateful look, Sanji gave Law a thumbs up.

"Yohohoho! Law-san, you have some great hobbies there. I didn't even know you had such a cute girl in your crew." Brook was next to speak as he too came near them. He turned towards Miyako with a serious expression, before fixing up his scarf and shining his shoes. He bowed gracefully to the girl and for a second, Miyako relaxed thinking he was indeed a gentleman…that is, until he spoke.

"Miss, would you be so kind to show me your panties?" The skeleton asked quite seriously, with outmost courtesy.

Miyako's bewildered eyes widened even more as her face paled a few tones, unable to even speak her mind.

"Bwahaahahaha!" Meanwhile Luffy laughed his ass off, finding the whole situation hilarious. Still Miyako wasn't laughing as she stared at the skeleton and Law tried his best to calm down while Sanji praised him for his lecherous ways which were definitively not his intention. He didn't even know why Miyako was wearing that outfit so how did he become the culprit all of a sudden?

"Hey, you can't talk like that to Miya-chan!" Shachi cut in and Miyako sighed in relief, glad for her friends to help her out in a pinch.

"Yeah, that's only our right as her crewmates." Penguin finished and both mechanics started grinning widely with redness in their cheeks, thinking of who-knows-what perverted ideas.

"Aaargh, I'm so jealous!" Sanji yelled in frustration, staring at the two grinning mechanics and then Miyako and her outfit.

Miyako jut about had enough of it all. "Get away you perverts!" She hit both mechanics, Brook and Sanji with the scabbards of her katana, burying them deep in the snow.

Franky turned around at the word. "Pervert? Did somebody call me?"

"Definitively not!" Nami decided to get involved this time, seeing as Luffy was still only laughing hysterically.

Zoro sweat-dropped at the sight of a truly angry Miyako, her golden eyes burning with furry while her cheeks flared with embarrassment. "Another Devil Woman…" He muttered, looking from Nami to Miyako and obviously finding some similarities between the two.

The townspeople and the councilmen still stared at the horror of the beaten and bleeding Razing pirates before them along with the mayor and the Christmas pirates, not daring to make a sound and be noticed by these pirates. They did learn one important lesson today; never mess with pirates.

"So, what now?" We still need to get all the way back to Town Icly where we started the race and were are ships are docked." Nami complained.

"Au! I took the liberty of taking all of our trashed sleighs and making a new improved version! I call it Franky sleighs x2000, large enough to fit all of us, right down to this giant fella' over there!" Franky exclaimed pointing his robo-thumb at Jean Bart.

"But how will we ride it? We don't have anything to pull the sleighs." Cody hummed with a troubled expression.

Law looked back at the councilmen and the Christmas pirates, showing a wide smirk. An expression that told them he just got a nasty idea. A wonderful nasty idea.

~…~

The Christmas pirates, the judges, mayor Copstickle and the councilmen all panted and heaved as they pulled the giant metal sleighs with ropes attached to it. Meanwhile, the pirate crews were all sitting there in comfort, enjoying the last of the winter's day as the sun slowly fell down from the horizon. The sky was quickly turning from white and grey, into more lively colors as the sunset painted it with red and orange.

Robin giggled one of those mischievous velvety laughs of hers. "I must say mister Trafalgar, you're quite cruel." She didn't sound like she was resenting him for it, more like she was amused by the fact.

Law smirked, not taking any offense either. "I'd rather say I'm simply being fair." He leaned his elbow on the sleigh's rail and rested his chin on his fist while crossing his legs. His trusted nodachi was well-balanced on the other shoulder, as Law rested his other hand on the sword. On his lap was a bag filled with exactly 100 milion Beli.

By the time they arrived to town Icly, the first pale stars were showing on the darkening sky and the moon broke out from the clouds. Everyone jumped out from the sleighs and onto the crisp snow that covered the ground. Nami was last one to come out, standing gloomy and in a sour mood. Every now and then she would glance at the bag in Law's hand. "My money…my prize money. We were so close…"

"Haha Give up Nami, Toraoguy beat us fair and square." Luffy laughed, giving Nami quite a strong pat on the back that almost made her fall down into the snow.

"Luffy! How can you be so calm about this! Now we're broke just like before coming here!" She stretched his rubber face as far as it goes, pinching the cheeks and expending his mouth. She had her usual angry and irritated expression back, but at least she wasn't as gloomy-looking anymore. That only made Luffy laugh more, glad that his navigator returned back to her normal-self again.

Meanwhile, the Heart Pirates gulped and looked at each other with weary expressions, deciding then and there that they won't mess with Strawhat crew's women.

"Ahh, we're back." Miyako stretched and looked up, noting a slightly wet and cold feeling on her nose. She blinked as she looked up, realizing new snow started to fall. It glistened in the night as the snowflakes fell upon them. Everyone stopped for a while, looking up and enjoying the night view of the falling snow.

"Ah, a mistletoe!" Shachi exclaimed and realized he was talking to Miyako who was right in front of him, both of them under the mistletoe decoration. Miyako blinked in surprise as she noticed Shachi before her. The mechanic's cheeks went red again as he smiled at her sheepishly.

"What a romantic scene." Brook commented, sipping some tea from a cup that nobody knew where he pulled out from in the first place. He quietly watched and noticed he was speaking to Trafalgar who was standing beside him and staring with quite an emotionless expression. Brook sweat dropped thinking that Law obviously couldn't' appreciate a romantic scene when he saw one since he just didn't seem to care.

"Yeah, too bad it's wasted on Shachi." Penguin muttered a bit bitter that such an opportunity didn't come to him instead.

Miyako was just about to ask the blushing mechanic what his problem was, not getting the big deal nor knowing what everyone else was thinking since she didn't even know what a mistletoe was. They didn't have such strange traditions in Wano. She never managed to utter a single syllable though, as she felt quite a tight grip on her forearm when someone tugged her away. She turned around in wonder and slight surprise, seeing Law holding her by the forearm and walking away not really caring if she could keep up or not.

"Miss Miyako, isn't it about time to get out of these ridiculous clothes?" he didn't look back at her as he continued to pull her away and towards the docks where their submarine was awaiting them.

However, the captain realized how wrong that choice of words was when he heard Sanji behind him, obviously misinterpreting the situation. "Oh Law, you lucky bastard…" The cook had tears in his eyes, with his fist in the air and clenched tightly, obviously wishing he was the one to take those clothes off of Miyako. Law stopped and grimaced as he was about to turn around and set Sanji straight, explaining that wasn't what he meant at all. Instead, the captain just took a deep breath to calm down and continued walking, dragging a confused Miyako behind him.

"Hm..but we still have quite some time before the log pose sets in." Robin commented with Cody nodding in agreement next to her.

"I know, let's have a banquet!" Luffy suddenly yelled and everyone looked at him with perplexed expressions. "Yeah, with the Heart Pirates, and everyone else! Let's have a banquet in the yellow submarine!"

Law stopped once more and this time turned round, not being able to hide his surprise. "What?!" His expression soon turned into an annoyed one but then gave out a resigned sigh. He saw there was no use trying to beat Luffy with logical arguments and the other captain wasn't about to listen to him anyway. Also, the Heart Pirates looked excited as soon as they heard the word 'banquet.' Of course they would be, since there was drinking and eating involved.

~…~

The rest of the night went quite quickly but full of excitement for both the Heart Pirates and the Straw Hats. First, they all dressed back to their usual attire much to Law's and Miyako's satisfaction. Afterwards, Sai and the group went back to the postal office, bringing back muddy and filthy uniforms and wracked sleigh. Luckily the reindeer were tamed so they found their way back to the office on their own. Still, they spent a good amount of time apologizing with their heads down and bowing to the large clerk woman who came back and the two postal girls, trying to explain everything that happened and why they completely wrecked their property together with destroying all the mail.

Afterwards, Luffy dragged everyone to a nearby hill for some sledging, which ended up a competition once again as pair of two went down the hill numerous times, crashing in the heaps of snow or trying to avoid the trees up ahead. Law and Jean Bart just sighed but didn't join as they watched the Heart Pirates and Strawhat Pirates in their shenanigans. Instead the two sat around the fire, together with Zoro and Robin. Robin was reading a book, sometimes conversing with the pirate captain while Zoro and Bart, the more silent types, rather drank together than talked Meanwhile, Sanji was borrowing Munk's kitchen on the sub, working with the old pirate chef and cooking for the banquet.

Not long after, Luffy got a ludicrous idea to get a Christmas tree seeing as everybody had one decorated for Christmas. So went the group to find and cut down a tree, which soon turned into another competition of wanting to find the biggest one. Zoro joined in this time, cutting quite a big one while the others made Jean Bart help them who grabbed a tree trunk and ripped the tree right out of the ground with roots and all. When they finally dragged a big one back Cody stopped them with a single question; "How to you expect to fit that in the submarine?"

With a sweat drop and a few nervous and guilty looks from the pirates, the idea was changed and they instead set the tree out in the snow, near the submarine. Luffy and Miyako were the first to start decorating it but it took help from everyone to actually finish the job since the tree was so large.

"The food is ready!" Sanji finally called and everyone rushed inside the submarine and right into the galley.

Here Munk was humming a tune and decorating the whole place with Christmas decorations. A pine branch here, a mistletoe there. Lots of colorful lights, ribbons and candy canes.

"C'man, ya' all buckeeneers, grub be waitin' for ya'! " Munk called and grinned, seeing everyone entering the galley.

"Munk, what is all this?" Miyako blinked and felt the need to rub her eyes just to make sure she wasn't seeing things. The whole galley was colorful and sparkling.

Law didn't look so pleased and amazed as he only had one silent question in his mind; _What the hell did you do to my submarine? _

Luffy was already holding a piece of meat in one hand and a plate of spaghetti in the other as he looked around at the decorations, liking the ambient.

"Ya' like it?! It be Christma' time after all, so we gotta be havin' ourselves some décor." Munk laughed and motioned all around the galley at the Christmas ambient.

All the Heart Pirates joined the group in the galley now, laughing and looking around, playing cards or eating and drinking along with the Strawhat pirates. Miyako looked above her and noticed that same plant from before…mistletoe they called it.

"What is this?" She asked Sam who was busy stuffing himself with food. So instead, she got the answer from Chopper who was eating beside her as well.

"That's mistletoe. Didn't you ever see one Miyako?" The reindeer tilted his head in question.

Miyako shook her head. "No, never, Tanuki-san. What does it represent?"

"Well you see, when two people are beneath a mistletoe- Hey! Who are you calling a Racoon!? I'm a reindeer! A reindeer!" Chopper yelled suddenly surprising both Miyako and Sam beside them who almost choked on his food. Thankfully Sai was there to give him a good pat on the back.

"When two people are beneath it, they're supposed to kiss. Didn't you know that?" Sai explained the end, looking at the girl.

Miyako tilted her head in puzzlement. She still didn't quite grasp the meaning or reason for a mistletoe. What did it represent? What happens when they kiss? How was that helpful at anything? She meant to ask a lot more questions but felt a nasty aura around her that sent a cold shiver down her spine. She looked around to see the Heart Pirates, along with Sanji, towering over her with grinning faces that seemed almost evil, their eyes glowing with anticipation. That's when she realized she was still under the mistletoe and a sense of dread overpowered her. She clenched her fist in frustration and gave everyone a good hit on the head for even thinking about it. "Don't even dare!"

Zoro sweat dropped again seeing even more similarities with Nami, but he was wise enough not to comment on any of it. He knew quite well what happens when you piss off Devil Women.

Meanwhile, the only one who seemed completely out of it and uninterested in the whole situation, except for Luffy who was too occupied with food, was Trafalgar Law who came walking towards the group with his nose in one of his books. "Miss Miyako I need to-" He stopped abruptly when he noticed the silence around him, everyone quietly watching at both Law and Miyako standing there in front of each other. The pirate captain looked around at his crew who all had weird expectant expressions on their faces. He questioningly raised an eyebrow but then noticed even Miyako was standing there silently and staring at him wide-eyed. "Yes?" He simply asked, breaking the awkward silence.

*_No, no, no way! What kind of weird development is this?! I'm not mentally prepared for this! I can't just all of a sudden…with Law…in front of everybody!*_ Miyako's mind was racing as her cheeks begun getting hotter and redder the more she thought about the whole situation.

Law noticed Cody subtly looked up and the captain followed his gaze until it reached the mistletoe above their heads. Miyako and Law's heads to be exact. "Oh." He nonchalantly said, no understand the reason for everyone's silence and expectant looks and Miyako's completely nervous form. Was she expecting a kiss? He couldn't tell by her demeanor as she just stood there seemingly lost and completely silent. He looked around, seeing that most Strawhat pirates were still in their own little world; Brook was still plying his guitar and singing with some of the Heart pirates dancing and enjoying it while yelling Soul King's the best. Nami was yelling about something at Luffy who was ignoring her and just kept eating, stealing food from Usopp's and Chopper's plates that started yelling and their captain for it as well. Robin was seemingly uninterested, simply reading a book but her glances kept wondering off their way looking at the scene. Some of the Heart pirates were eating and drinking, also yelling at Strawhat for stealing food off their plates. Did Usopp just put some chili peppers on his plate, readying a trap for Luffy's next steal off his plate? Yep…and there goes the fire from the captain's mouth. Law's gaze fell onto Sanji and Zoro who were arguing about something trivial again and Franky, trying to calm them down but all was in vain. Trafalgar's gaze fell back on Miyako who was still standing there like a marble statue, quivering slightly. It seems she was trying to open her mouth now and say something but words just wouldn't come out. _*This is ridiculous.*_ Law thought absentmindedly. So what even if he kissed her now in front of everybody? It was his right. He remembered the scene with Miyako and Shachi under the mistletoe in the town and a pang of both jealousy and frustration crept into his heart. That just made him want to kiss her now even more, show everyone that he and only _he_ had a right to do that. He stepped forward, deciding on what do to.

Shachi and Penguin almost squeezed each other in anticipation as time seemed to stop. They didn't even dare to breathe.

Cody chuckled in amusement, looking at his captain so riled up which was quite unusual for Law. He didn't often show such a side, except in battle or in front of the surgery table.

Sai just sighed and turned to walk away, out of the galley, completely uninterested by this development. Jean Bart simply sat there and sweat dropped at the young kids and their problems before he returned back to his grog.

"Oh no, not again!" Josh wailed and Cody blinked in confusion and wonder towards the redhead. The taller medic remembered his friend from this morning when he purposely dragged Miyako away from Law. He knew Josh never wanted to know or see anything about Law's and Miyako's relationship and for some reason the whole idea of it gave the redhead the creeps. Cody narrowed his eyes in slight irritation of that fact, thinking of such behavior childish on Josh's part.

Still, childish or not, Josh had enough of those lovey-dovey situations he would sometimes notice between Law and Miyako. And somehow he was always the unlucky one to barge in at the wrong time and see things he definitively didn't want to see…ever. And now they were doing it right there, in public, in front of his eyes! He had enough. He had to stop it. He just had to spare his poor brain and eyesight from such experiences.

Bepo only blinked a few times and tilted his head, not understanding why everyone was so still and tense. Was something important happening and he was missing it? He noticed Miyako's red expression full of tension. "Miya –chan, why is your face red?"

The question only made Miyako redder as she felt her cheeks reach a new level of heat yet unknown to mankind. Still, she couldn't take her nervous eyes off of Law and his piercing stare with the stormy grey irises. She felt dizzy and uncoordinated, thinking she was about to faint any second now. Any. Second. Now.

Law was close enough for Miyako to feel his hot breath now. *_Is he really going to do this? In front of everybody?!* _However, she didn't notice a certain short redhead determined to stop this whole charade, moving behind her. Just as the pair's lips were about to meet, Josh "accidentally" bumped into Miyako with a slight smirk on his features. "oops." He whispered while snickering. Miyako flew sideways still confused and surprised as she tried to steady herself on her feet but with little luck. On the dread of everyone there, Zoro who was just done with one of his quarrels with Sanji, and was passing by near the group and didn't notice the girl who collided full force into him knocking both of them down on the ground and accidentally connecting their lips together. The kiss was far from romantic or elegant as both of them stared at each other wide-eyed and in shock. The girl quickly entangled from the swordsman, realizing that everything was quiet and everyone was staring at them now. Staring at her.

"You damned marimo!" an angry shout of Sanji came somewhere from the back of the galley.

Only Josh seemed to be laughing at her misery. However, that didn't last for long seeing as karma worked rather quickly. And Josh would later think that karma was extremely cruel. The redhead saw Law started leaning forward to help or rather drag Miyako up and from the swordsman, a mixture of annoyance and resign on his face as he found this whole situation troublesome. At the same time, Franky was showing an amazed Chopper and Usopp another of his dances, not noticing his surroundings with that big body of his. The shipwright bumped right into Kai who stumbled forward and pushed Josh, creating a chain reaction that led all the way to the unsuspecting captain of the Heart Pirates as he towered over Miyako and Zoro. Josh fell towards the captain and stopped with a mortified, completely horrified look. Yes, it happened….His lips locked with Law's in one brief moment before the captain pushed him away with almost as mortified expression as Josh's. Everyone in the Heart Pirates group around them were silent now, staring with shocked expression and opened, hanging jaws at the sight. Miyako and Zoro were completely forgotten as now everyone stared at Josh and Law.

Law stood up as tall as he was, towering over Josh with a dark expression that promised nothing good. "Josh-ya…" He said dangerously calm and very silent. Just like the quiet before the storm.

"I-It was an accident! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Josh could almost cry at this moment, sitting on the floor in front of his captain, as Law's form towered menacingly over him with a killing aura of bloodlust swirling around him. Yet his expression still seemed calm, though his piercing eyes burned with fire towards the redhead betraying the captain's true intentions. Only a slight twitch now and then of Law's eyebrow indicated how enraged the captain truly was.

Then before Law could actually do something to Josh, a new person arrived, jumping on Law with his mouth still full of meat like some animal that wouldn't let go of its next meal. "Torao, what's wrong?" Luffy yelled almost in Law's ear as he still hung from the captain. Strangely enough, Law didn't seem to have a problem supporting Luffy's weight as he still stood there on his feet even with the boy hanging from him.

Law's eyebrow was twitching even more now as he stared in space ahead wishing all of this was a nightmare that he will soon wake up from. Alas that never happened. That would be too good to be true after all. Instead, Luffy shoved a piece of meat right in front of his face. "Hefe, Tofaoguy, tafe fome meaf! Youf'll feel beffer." Strawhat suggested still chewing, his mouth full of food that kept spraying everywhere from his mouth as he talked.

Miyako, who would usually laugh her ass off by that whole situation and especially find some glee in Josh's sorry state, had no time or mind to enjoy it as she still stared almost petrified at Zoro. "S-s-sorry…" The girl's tolerance level just reached its peak as she became red completely in her face. A fuse blew up somewhere in her mind and the girl fell down.

"Whaa! Miya-chan!" Penguin shouted, realizing the samurai girl fainted.

~…~

The rest of the banquet went through without any more uncomfortable or embarrassing moments, in good music, drinks and food. Miyako got up soon after and was sitting at the table, well away from Zoro who just kept drinking, both of them avoiding any eye contact with each other for the rest of the night. Law was nowhere to be seen as he subtly excused himself and left the galley while the whole ruckus with the fainting Miyako was still going on. The real problems started when Miyako found eggnog and decided to drown her sorrows and troubles with it, determined to forget everything that happened tonight.

"Thissss all your fault!" She slurred, glaring at Josh with a red face, now from alcohol, staring with glazed hazy eyes.

The redhead couldn't answer much since he was on the brink of unconsciousness, beaten to a pulp with Miyako's own hands. He had a dark purple bruise on his left eye and a few pretty big bumps from her hits all over his head. His face looked completely swollen. At least he seemed to learn his lesson for tonight.

"Yef…'m sowy…" He tried speaking through his swollen mouth.

"M-Miya-chan, give me the glass." Cody tried reasoning with her and take away the girl's glass, which was like taking meat from a wild animal right now.

"No!" The girl yelled like a child and with surprisingly good and quick reflexes for a drunken person avoided his hands, taking the glass further away from him.

"You…you're all making…f-fun of me!" She yelled and suddenly got up trying to unsheathe her katana. Shachi and Penguin tried to hold her back as she tried to slice up Josh on the spot who pulled back with quite a scared expression.

Suddenly the girl stopped resisting and looked down, hiding her expression. A sniff escaped her and everyone froze. Another sniff came soon after wards and she looked up with a quivering lip, ready to cry. "Y-you all…think I'm a joke."

"No, that's not true Miya-chan!" Bepo tried comforting the girl.

The girl sniffed a few more times then suddenly stopped….and then reached for her katana becoming violent again. "Well I'll show you who's a joke, you damned pirates!" There was burning fury in her eyes once more.

Hwever, just as she was about to start slicing, she noticed Luffy and Chopper doing a weird dance on the table with chopsticks stuck between their nostrils and mouth, baskets in their hands. Why did they have baskets anyway? She didn't know but she found the scene so hilarious, the girl started laughing till tears appeared in her eyes, falling back to her seat seeing as her drunken-self had no balance or coordination at the moment. The Heart Pirates sighed in relief at her change.

The scene was finally stopped by Sai who suddenly entered the galley again. "Guys, there's fireworks outside!"

Everyone looked in his direction before both the Heart Pirates and the Strawhat pirates ran outside on the large deck of the submarine, looking at the clear night sky which was now filled with colorful lights from the fireworks. The green and the red entangled with each other, soon replaced by the yellow and the blue. The sky was filled with lights and crackling noises that echoed all around them. The pirates fell silent now, as they just stood there and watched the show. Even Miyako calmed down, sobering up a little as she was mesmerized by the sparkling lights in front of her eyes.

Whoa…it's beautiful." Nami looked at the sky in awe as the fireworks continued. Slight mist came out of her mouth every time she breathed out but she hardly even noticed the cold as she kept her eyes glued to the shower of lights above.

Brook took out his violin, playing Bink's sake in a slow tempo, which perfectly fit the occasion of fireworks in the air. Only after the fireworks were over did the party continue and Brook changed his tune in a more quick paced and happy one. It didn't take long for all the pirates to join in as that song came natural to every pirate and even Miyako knew it by now. Munk would often sing it while they were cooking in the ship's galley.

Little by little everyone got tired and fell asleep in the submarine, sleeping wherever they closed their eyes during their party last night. The first rays of sun appeared in the still slightly dark sky as they shone upon the glistening water and the yellow submarine docked beside a large ship with a smiling lion in the front.

The Heart Pirates waved goodbye, seeing the Thousand Sunny leave the docks and sail on its way to new adventures. The submarine was preparing for setting sail as well, the Heart Pirates soon running around the ship still a bit groggy and dizzy from all the food and drink last night.

Miyako felt horrible the next day as the hangover finally hit her along with the memories of last night. She remembered everything through the haze and only felt worse and more embarrassed after it. _*I didn't see Law after the thing with Zoro-san…he isn't upset about it, is he? It was an accident.*_

A loud shriek suddenly pierced her ears. "No!" It was Josh. Miyako looked back at him, together with the rest of the group surrounding him in the galley. They were trying to clean everything up from yesterday's banquet. "In the end, we never bought captain a Christmas present!" Josh explained, holding his head in despair and disappointment.

"You're right…I wonder what can we give to him. Something that we know he likes and wants…" Penguin though, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Fish?" Bepo suggested.

"That's what _you_ want!" Penguin yelled back.

"Sorry," the bear slumped his shoulder with the fuzzy head bowed down.

"Something for Captain…" Cody mumbled, thinking about it as well.

"I wonder what it is that we have on this ship already and we know he likes." Miyako asked out loud, thinking of some kind of food that they could prepare for Law to enjoy. *_Perhaps we could cook something.*_ She didn't even notice when the rest of the crew fell silent and everyone turned to stare at her quietly. She looked up and blinked in confusion when she saw everyone looking at her.

"What?" She asked, not understanding what everybody was thinking about all of a sudden.

"I think we even still have _that_." Sai noted.

"Yeah, from the postal office." Josh added. He didn't especially like the idea but it was indeed one thing they all knew Law liked. It was right here in front of them after all.

Miyako took a step backwards, not liking the expressions the Heart pirates were showing. "H-hey guys…what's going on? Why are you all looking at me like that?" She didn't get an answer as everyone jumped at her at the same time. "Kyaaaa!" She screamed.

~….~

Law was on his back from the infirmary when he opened the doors of his room and stepped inside. He stood there for quite some time, staring at the item in the middle of the room. It was a large box wrapped like a present. He stepped forward and found a small card saying; "From the crew".

"Hmm…" With an interested hum, the captain opened the lid of the box and peered inside, only to close the box immediately afterwards from the surprise. He realized what he had done and took a deep breath before opening the box one more time. Inside, Miyako was sitting with her mouth gagged and her hands and feet tied, in the Santa girl suit she wore yesterday.

"Miss Miyako….what is this?" Law tried being as collected as he could, but after last night's events it was harder for him than usual. He had enough excitement for a while.

"Mhmmf" was the only answer Miyako could give him, her mouth still gaged with a simple kitchen cloth.

With a sigh, Law helped the girl up and out of the box, untying her feet first. He looked at her straight in the face for a while and Miyako returned the stare. First she gave him a questioning one, then a slightly annoyed glare asking '_won't you untie me already_?'

The captain just tilted his head a little, with a smirk on his features. "I'm still deciding." He simply said, reading her expression perfectly. Miyako was a bit worried that they were spending too much time together thus he can already read her mind.

His smug response, however, made her glare at him one more time, with even more impatience. Law simply shrugged but after a while more of seeing the girl cook in her own impatience, the captain finally felt sorry for her enough to untie her wrists.

"Now…" Law started, removing the last of the cloth in the girl's mouth. "Explain." He ordered, not angry or annoyed, but definitively interested.

Miyako took a deep breath, enjoying the richness of air even in this stuffy room now that she could finally breathe fully again. "It's all _their_ fault!" She remembered to explain when she saw Law's uncertain look with his eyebrow high. "The rest of the crew! You see they wanted to surprise you with a Christmas present but in the end didn't have time to buy anything and then suddenly they all ganged up on me, tied me up and dressed me into this, putting me in the box!" The girl had trouble keeping her breath as she quickly explained everything in one long sentence. As she did, it was obvious she was getting more upset and frustrated by the situation and her tone rose accordingly. By the end of it, she was slightly panting, her golden eyes wide.

Law wasn't least bit surprised by her explanation since he expected things like this with his crew already. They might not be as crazy and rash as the Strawhat pirates, but they still had their moments…much to Law's dismay. The captain sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as if trying to will his rising headache away. But then a smirk appeared as he got an idea. Say what you will, but perhaps the Heart Pirates has some good ideas sometimes after all.

"So…I take it, you are my present?" Law asked smoothly, though it sounded more like a statement.

The girl seemed a bit surprised by this turn of events and took a step back, only to be met with the desk behind her. "W-wait a second…I mean…"

Law, on the other hand didn't listen as he stepped even closer, pressing her between his body and the table. "Hmm?" He hummed in question, with a smirk on his face, as he trailed from her lips down to her neck, where he finally stopped right at the crook of it where it met the shoulder. He gave it a teasing bite, loving how the girl jumped in surprise.

However, her next words came rather unexpected. "S-so...you're not angry?" The captain stopped and looked up at her in wonder, seeing her rather shy expression as she guilty turned her head away and looked down at the floor. "I mean, it was an accident, but still….You just disappeared so I thought you were mad at me." She finally looked back up at him, meeting his rather emotionless look, that mask that always hid perfectly what he was thinking at the moment. She couldn't tell was it good or bad, as he kept staring right at her.

"I'm not upset." He finally answered. He wasn't so simpleminded as to get angry over such an incident that was clearly an accident anyway. He had more brain than that. Even though he surely wasn't happy about it either. Still, he would rather not think about Miyako and Zoro at the moment like this, as he wanted to forget that whole occurrence in the galley as soon as possible. Especially the part with Joshua-ya….Law felt a disgusted shiver run down his spine just remembering it and deciding he would rather dedicate himself to something better right now. He gave Miyako another smirk as he came closer to her lips, putting his hands on each side, down on the table, trapping her body between his arms. There was no escape this time. "But if you feel so bad about it, you can always make it up to me." He muttered in a husky voice just before planting a kiss on her lip. On his slight surprise and mirth, Miyako didn't try to run or get out of it this time but instead returned the favor as she kissed him back, slightly opening her mouth in the process to grant his better access. She was getting better at this each time. Law was just about to reward her for that fact with his tongue, when he stopped abruptly, narrowing his eyes in annoyance and turning his head to the side a little.

Miyako's body stiffened as she watched his change in demeanor, thinking it was somehow her fault. She was just about to ask what was wrong when Law's blue sphere surrounded them with Law uttering one simple word. He lifted his hand and moved a finger as the doors of his quarters flung open. On Miyako's surprise and Law's annoyance, Josh, Shachi, Penguin, Bepo, and Cody all fell in the room, with suprise written on their faces.

They quickly stood up, giving the pair a nervous and sheepish smile. "Captain it's not what you think!" Josh tried to justify himself but then remembered Law's and his…_accident_, and decided it was better for his to keep his mouth shut and play invisible for the next couple of weeks.

"Uhm yeah…we were just…wondering if you liked your present." Penguin said with a nervous grin, scratching the back of his head.

Law was still glaring at them, but then got an idea and decided to surprise his crewmembers a little. They wanted a show? They'll get one. "Yes, actually I did." Law answered with a wide amused smirk and turned back to the still confused Miyako. Before she could respond or refuse, he took her by the waist with one hand and gave her a deep kiss right in front of everybody.

"Mhfh?" The girl's body stiffened as she stared wide eyed in shock, much like everyone else in the room.

When Law finally let go of her and turned back to the Heart Pirates, she was still standing there in shock, her body stiff like a statue. "Happy?" Law asked his crew members with a questioning expression.

"No!" Josh yelled, not being able to take this whole lovey-dovey situation between Law and Miyako anymore. He just wanted things the way they were before…He would do anything for Miyako and Law to argue like at the beginning of their acquaintance.

Bepo blinked a few times, looking at Miyako, then remembering a similar scene yesterday at the galley. At that time, Josh accidentally kissed the captain and had the same look as Miya-chan had now. He even stood completely stiff like that, just like the girl was now, not saying a word. The polar bear examined these two similar situations and a light bulb lit up in his head as he came to a conclusion. "Wow, captain Law, you're amazing! Boa Hanckock can turn people into stone, but Captain's kisses mortify people!" He exclaimed much to everyone's surprise. The group sweat-dropped as they watched the bear stare at his powerful captain in awe. Bepo concluded Law was truly a man of many skills.

~…..~

Sai sighed as he stared at the white envelope of the letter in his hand. In the end he was never able to send this to his little sister since they encountered all that trouble at the island.

Jean Bart watched the navigator next to him sigh deeply, obviously troubled with some innermost problematic thoughts. "What's wrong, Sai?" The older man finally asked seeing the navigator simply stare at his letter.

Sai was momentarily brought out of his musings as he heard Bart's deep voice. "Oh, I was just hoping to send this to my little sister but as always, things happened…" He sighed again a bit bitter by the fact that their every excursion to an island ends this way.

Jean Bart furrowed his eyebrows in thought. "I see…but we have a den den mushi, why don't you just call her?"

Sai stiffened a little as he thought about that idea but then turned his head away as if bashful all of a sudden. A slight rosy color appeared on his cheeks as he looked away. Jean Bart realized that in all their time sailing together and navigating in the control room, this was the first time he saw the younger navigator blush, even if it was ever-so-slightly. "I could never…" Sai trailed off in an uncertain voice, leaving Jean Bart to tilt his head in confusion and blink his eyes at Sai's unusual behavior.

* * *

**It's finally done! I really had fun writing this so I hope it was equally fun for you to read it. I must say, all those mistletoe scenes from the reviews and PMs you suggested were pretty hard to incorporate in one story XD but I did the best I can! :D**

**I hope you guys liked it. Also, the new chapter of the 'I don't like you!' series should be out shortly (it's already done but I sent it to a Beta Reader for a checkup :D). **

**Happy holidays everybody!**


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